Turbo: Legacy
by ERiN OPPEL
Summary: Following his survival of the volcano, Turbo struggles to find his place in the arcade. But how can he, when everyone seems to be against him?
1. Return of the King

**Previously on the Turbo saga (see **_**Turbo Takes the Throne**_** and **_**Torque-it Turbo**_**), we saw how the infamous racer invaded **_**Sugar Rush**_** and tried to destroy Vanellope before meeting his untimely demise. In this fic, we will see what he does once he gets brought back to life, in true believable fashion.**

**(Note: This isn't what I think the WIR sequel should be about, as it just focuses on Turbo's character development.)**

**Disclaimer: Once again, Disney owns the **_**Wreck-it Ralph**_** characters, and any cameos belong to their respective owners.**

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Turbo: Legacy

_By ERiN OPPEL_

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Chapter 1: Return of the King

"AAAAAAAAAHHHH!" screamed Turbo as he tried smothering out the flames with his hands. "MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT…" He opened one eye a crack. "Stop?" The scalding pain he had experienced a second ago had vanished as quickly as it came.

"…That was weird." Turbo checked himself over. Much to his surprise, he wasn't at all charred or melted. Not as surprising was the fact that he was now back to his original form; the Cy-bug must've gotten vaporized along with his King Candy disguise. Did that mean that _he_ was still alive?

Turbo huffed at the darkness all around him. "Well if I'm dead, this is the most boring afterlife ever." He tried to walk, but he was apparently in a zero gravity zone, like the code vault. "What the…?"

Just then, short colourful streaks of light shot out from a single point in the distance in front of him. They flowed past his head and seemed to emit a low electric humming noise. Dumbfounded, Turbo watched the ribbons of light zoom by, changing colours and patterns. "My Mod, it's full of pixels..." he breathed in wonder.

He soon felt like he was moving forward in the direction of where the lights were coming from. Alarmed, Turbo flailed in an effort to stop. "Wait! Don't go into the light!" he cried, thinking he could convince himself. But this didn't seem like his mind forcing him to, like it was with the Cy-bug. Turbo quickly felt himself speeding up as if a rocket was attached to his back. The lights flashed by. The hum intensified. Just what was going on?

A background gradually faded in from black. It was almost too dim to tell, but Turbo recognized it as Diet Cola Mountain as seen from above. The lights and humming disappeared, though he hadn't noticed when they had stopped. His stomach lurched when he realized that he had been falling towards the open mouth of the volcano.

The racer screamed, now wishing he still had his wings. He flipped and flailed, but still plummeted like a stone into the volcano. Thankfully, all the cola had erupted, so he didn't get burned (again) as he fell through the bottle-shaped mountain. _Is this really how it's going to end?_ Turbo thought, seeing a dark hole rushing up to him. His life flashed before his eyes, now that it had time to: Mostly all the awesome stuff he did, but also his fond memories of the twins and his relationship with everyone in _Sugar Rush_.

Then he hit bottom and blacked out.

* * *

When Turbo awoke who knows how much later, he was surrounded by darkness again. "Oh great," he grumbled. "Am I gonna do this _every time_ I die?"

But something was different. For one thing, he was sore all over, especially his back. He also appeared to be lying on a hard surface. Turbo strained to sit up and when he did, he cast a gaze around. To his relief, his beaming eyes partially illuminated a chocolaty ceiling with stalactites hanging from it. He appeared to be inside a large, warm cave.

Wait, how was that possible? He had fallen into the volcano, so how could he have ended up in a cave? The fact that it was warm gave him the answer: He was _under_ the volcano. And it was loaded. _That glitch must've reset the game,_ he thought in dismay.

After struggling to stand up, Turbo wandered the cave in search for an exit. There was _no way_ he was staying right under the thing that almost killed him, even if it was cozy enough to take a nap.

He eventually reached a larger section of cave where red licorice ropes hung from the high ceiling. "This must be right under the Twizzler Fields," figured Turbo. He tugged on a root. It felt pretty secure. After wiping his hands on his jumpsuit, he grabbed the rope and started to climb…

…And promptly fell on his back.

"OW!" Turbo groaned and rolled onto his side. He cursed his lack of climbing skills; after all, he was not designed to platform. Getting up, he tried again. This time, he tied the end of the rope around his waist to prevent him from hitting the ground. Many attempts later, he finally reached the top.

"Now all I have to do is dig my way out!" With one hand still holding onto the top of the root, he began to claw at the surface. Eventually, he decided to kick a hole in it because it was taking too long. Summoning all his strength, Turbo hauled himself out of the cave and onto a bed of licorice.

Sighing in relief, Turbo laid down for a minute to get his bearings. He was alive. Who knows how he survived, but he did. With Vanellope having reset the game, he was back to the beginning: No home, no new identity, and still breathing when everyone thought he was dead.

Hang on… If he was presumably dead, then no one would think of him taking over a game again. Turbo sat up, his mind working like a computer. Yes, he could try again. He could hack _Sugar Rush_'s code to remake King Candy, re-brainwashing the inhabitants in the process. For good measure, he would lock up Vanellope, Ralph, and Felix so that they wouldn't interfere with his plans.

This time, he wouldn't take any chances.

* * *

The long walk back to the castle proved to be more strenuous than he thought it would be. Despite fueling his stomach with lots of candy, Turbo had to frequently stop to rest or hide when some racers drove by. His back was killing him, but still he soldiered on, confident that he could set things back to the way they were supposed to be.

Turbo finally reached his former palace—no wait, it was STILL his palace—and he ducked behind some candy shrubbery. The Oreo guards chanted and marched in front of the entrance as always, but he doubted they'd even let him get to the door this time. So he did his best ninja impersonation as he made his way around the castle to find another way in.

He was no Snake from _Metal Gear Solid_, but he did manage to sneak to the other side where the wall was lowest without being detected. Glancing around to make sure the coast was clear, he emerged from the bush and brushed off some sprinkles. Turbo examined the wall, trying to estimate how high it was.

"Too bad I don't have anyone to give me a boost," he grumbled. But finding a new accomplice was out of the question, as he was sure Vanellope told everyone about him. _I wish I was taller again…_ He looked around, seeing if anything could be of use. Maybe if he stacked some gumdrops on top of each other, he'd be able to reach the top.

But when Turbo tried to pluck a gumdrop out of the ground to move it, it was pretty much stuck. "Argh!" He gave up and leaned on the gumdrop. "Nevermind. Hoo…" he panted. The racer saw a tall lollipop nearby and that gave him another idea.

Taking the lollipop out of the ground was easier, but he struggled a little with holding it up. "It'd be a lot better without _this_," Turbo grunted, hitting the candy part of the lollipop against the ground and breaking it off. Now all he was carrying was the stick, which was perfect for pole vaulting.

He set it down to squint at the wall and make calculating gestures with his hands, trying to figure out how fast he needed to run, when to vault, angle of trajectory and all that math stuff. When he felt ready, Turbo picked up the stick and exhaled deeply.

"Focus. Over the wall. I am lighter than a piece of unbuttered popcorn," he said, trying to calm his mind. With narrowed eyes, he took a deep breath and started to charge. As he ran, he kept the stick horizontally at his shoulder. When he felt he was at the right distance, Turbo planted the stick into the ground and leapt.

_Come on, come on! _At first he seemed to slow and he didn't think he was going to make it. But then he paddled through the air with his hands and made the stick lean over the wall. "Wh-whoa!" Turbo let go, falling into the courtyard on his face. "OOF!"

Spitting out sugar, the racer got up and looked back at the wall, seeing that he was indeed on the inside. "Yes!" he cheered, raising his arms with a wide grin.

A series of low growls rumbled from behind, and Turbo turned around.

The grin vanished. "No…"

Six Devil Dogs crept closer, snarling viciously.

Turbo gulped and started to back away slowly. "N-nice Devil Dogs," he said nervously. "It's m-me, King Candy…" _I completely forgot about the Devil Dog enclosure!_

But the dogs didn't let up. Once they got close enough, they barked and leapt at Turbo.

"AaaaAAAAAHHH!" the racer wailed, running away as fast as he could. He dashed to the only door he saw and frantically tried opening it. "LETMEOUTLETMEOUT!" But it was locked from the other side. Turbo glanced over his shoulder and saw the dogs coming at him again. "WHAAA!"

He ran around the whole enclosure, but the dogs kept pursuing him, barking madly. Turbo felt his legs burning and knew he couldn't keep this up for long. "HEEELLLLLLP! S.O.S! SOMEBODY SAVE ME!" he begged. He had been so close to getting back what was rightfully his. Was he going to be finished off already?

Just when he thought he would collapse from exhaustion, a licorice rope was lowered over the wall from the outside. Turbo beamed in relief and ran towards it with the dogs right behind him. He lunged at the rope and quickly scraped his boots against the wall to climb up. "PULLMEOUTPULLMEOUT!" He felt himself being dragged up, the Devil Dogs nipping at his heels.

Turbo tumbled off the top of the wall and landed safely on the ground, outside the dog pen. "Thank you," he breathed. "Thank you, thank you." But when he looked up to see who rescued him, he gasped.

In front of him were Wynnchel, Duncan, and Vanellope.

* * *

**Busted! How's Turbo gonna get out of this one? Find out in the next chapter! In the meantime, I'd appreciate your reviews, pretty please! Constructive criticism is welcome! (That means you tell me what you like, didn't like, what I can improve on, etc. in a professional manner).**

**PS: There was a movie reference at the beginning. Whoever finds it gets cake.**


	2. The Not-So-Fungeon

**Ok, either I'm the biggest sci-fi geek in this fandom, or I suck at descriptions more than I thought (I'm betting on the latter). The part in the last chapter where Turbo is flying through a tunnel of coloured lights is an homage to the famous "Star Gate" sequence in **_**2001: A Space Odyssey**_**. It probably would've worked if it was a visual instead of written. But thanks for all the guesses and reviews anyway! There's another famous movie reference in this chapter, but it's from an older classic, so I doubt anyone's gonna get it. Give it a go, if you want.**

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Chapter 2: The Not-So-Fungeon

"Aah! You again?!" Vanellope cried, her face a mixture of fear and disgust.

_I have to get outta here!_ Turbo started to run in the opposite direction, but stopped when he noticed the wall. "Oh yeah, I forgot." He was quickly seized by the two donut cops and forced to face Vanellope.

The girl stared at him, bewildered. "I thought you were crème brûlée! How are you still alive?!"

Turbo muttered, "I'm still trying to figure that out myself." He tried to free his arms from the grasps of the guards, but he was weak from the ordeal he went through. "I swear, if you don't—argh—let me go—huur—I'm gonna—grrr—pain! Lots of pain!"

At this, Vanellope looked unimpressed. "Yeah, you look really capable of dealing out a lot of damage," she deadpanned. "Let me guess, you tried to break into the code room to screw around with the game again?"

Turbo glared at her. "I was so close, too." He really hadn't expected to be caught before his plan even began. "Now let me go! …Or else!"

"No way!" Vanellope spat. "After what you did, and then daring to show up here again, you've got a lot of explaining to do!"

The older racer scoffed, "Nothing you do's gonna make me talk."

A sly smile on the girl's face nearly sent a shiver down Turbo's spine. "Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that…" She turned to Wynnchel and Duncan. "Bring him to…the Fungeon!"

Turbo widened his eyes and tried to resist. "No! No, no, please no!"

"Shut up, freak!" Wynnchel snapped and whacked Turbo in the back with his baton.

"Ooh!" He almost crumpled to the ground, but the guards continued to drag him towards the Fungeon.

Vanellope led the way inside, through the corridors until she got to one cell in particular: hers. "Here we are!" she announced cheerfully. "Your new home!"

Turbo recoiled at the sight of the cell he'd built specifically to hold the glitch. Now he was going to be forced to stay there. "Forget it! I'm not going in!" He was subsequently pushed inside by Duncan.

"Don't forget the chains!" chimed Vanellope.

Turbo whipped his head at her. "I don't need chains! I'm not a _glitch_, you numbskull!"

Vanellope seemed to consider this. "Hmm, you're right. Put him in a box of Chocroaches."

"I'll take the chains, I'll take the chains!" Turbo immediately went over to the center of the room where the glitch-proof chain was and let the cops shackle him up. Not being able to move anywhere, he just sat on a block and glared daggers at Vanellope. "Just how long do you plan on keeping me here?" he asked between gritted teeth.

The young racer shrugged. "I dunno. A couple hours, maybe? Just until I figure out what I wanna do with you." She was about to turn away, when she stopped to reach into her pocket. "Oh yeah, you might want something to keep you entertained." She tossed him a palm-sized gumball.

Turbo caught the ball as it bounced toward him and scowled at it. "What am I supposed to do with _this_?"

"Well whatever you do, don't swallow it," Vanellope advised, though Turbo couldn't tell if she was being serious. "If you do, it could block your intestines and make you, like, explode or something." With a bright smile, she waved and skipped away. "See you later, zombie-face!" The donuts locked the cell door and followed her out.

The pale racer stared at the door for a long time, contemplating everything that just happened. He was a prisoner in his own home, that glitch taken everything that belonged to him. But Turbo was no quitter: he would keep trying to regain his possessions and title as King. Just as soon as he got out of there…

Turbo scanned the room. Apart from the creepy clown faces that mocked him (how he regretted putting them up now), there didn't seem to be anything that would help him escape. He sighed, eyes resting on the gumball in his hand. _Might as well give this a try,_ he thought reluctantly.

He bounced the ball at the floor at an angle, causing it to bounce off the wall in front of him and sending it back to him. After a couple times of doing it, he groaned heavily.

"This is so _boring_," he complained. Still, he bounced the ball again, but his angle was slightly off. The ball rebounded the wall and went past him. "Wait—NO!" It rolled into a far corner and stayed there.

"No, come back!" Turbo reached as far as his chains would allow, but he wasn't even close. "NOOOOOOOOOO!" His anguished cry echoed throughout the otherwise silent Fungeon.

* * *

Glazed yellow eyes stared at the blue sky through the hole in the ceiling. Without the naturally changing sun positions the real world had, it was impossible to tell how long he'd been there. It felt like years, though.

Turbo sniffed but refused to cry. Crying was for wusses.

He had tried to fall asleep, but no position was comfortable. The chains didn't give when he attempted to break out of them, and he cursed himself for making the shackle so tight. It seemed like there was nothing else to do but wait until Vanellope decided his fate.

Oh how he _hated_ her. He should've killed the princess the very first day he met her. He should've snatched her from her cozy bed and dragged her outside the game and snapped her neck so that she would be guaranteed not to interfere. Why did he always do everything the hard way?

The door clanked open at long last and Vanellope noted in mock surprised, "Oh hey! You're still here."

Turbo glowered at her and spat, "'A couple hours' my Aunt Jemima! What the heck took you so long?!"

The girl looked up thoughtfully as she recounted, "Well, the arcade opened so I had to go to avatar selection. Apparently, I'm the most popular character in the game because I got chosen a lot. So yeah, I was played with in all the races, won a bunch of trophies, and when that was all done I participated in the Random Roster Race. After that I went to a _Dance Dance Revolution_ tournament and managed to place 2nd! Then I came back and had a nice nap. And then I remembered you existed."

Turbo's eye was twitching. He ground his teeth together before leaping off his seat with arms outstretched. "Why you little—!" he growled, furiously trying to strangle her. Of course he knew the chains would prevent him from doing so, but he was too desperate to stop.

Vanellope shook her head pitifully, making Turbo even more irritated. "How far the mighty have fallen. You know what's kinda funny? Not too long ago, I was in your position, and you were in mine." She chuckled and played with her drawstrings. "Well, I guess it's not too funny for _you_."

_Laugh all you want, glitch_, Turbo thought venomously. _I WILL get my revenge on you._ Knowing he wasn't in any shape to win the verbal fight, he sat down and crossed his arms silently.

"Aw, cheer up, Turbo," said Vanellope sweetly, making him feel sick. "I've brought some friends to talk to you."

_Friends?_ Before he could ask what she was talking about, Turbo heard thumping footsteps grow louder, followed by a booming voice.

"_Where is he?! I'll beat him into the ground!_"

Turbo didn't think it was possible, but he thought he just went a shade whiter after hearing Ralph's voice. "Uh-oh…"

A second voice, obviously Felix's, said, "Now remember, we're just here to ask him a few questions."

A third he didn't recognize added gruffly, "And if we don't get the answers we want, I'll blast more holes in him than a hundred pounds of Swiss cheese!"

Turbo flashed Vanellope a panicked glare. "How could you?!"

"I didn't say they were _your_ friends," she pointed out.

The chalk-skinned racer gulped and braced himself for what was to come.

Ralph burst into the cell, past Vanellope. He was enraged, jaw clenched and brows knitted together. His dark eyes bore into Turbo's as he crossed over to him. "You son of a glitch!"

Turbo tried to back up. "Wait-wait-WAIT!" In one swift motion, Ralph clutched Turbo's body in one of his giant fists and held him up to his face. "No, Ralph, no!" The stench overwhelmed him. "Ack! Put me down, you big oaf!"

Ralph sneered, "You got a lot of nerve showing up here. Leave my kid alone!" He clenched his fist tighter.

Turbo struggled to breathe. "Stop! I can't—" The corners of his vision started to darken. _How many times am I going to almost die?!_

Not soon enough, he heard Vanellope say, "Shucks, Ralph, he didn't do anything yet. Let him go."

One agonizing second later, Turbo felt Ralph release his grip and he fell to the floor, gasping for air. He hugged his aching chest as he grimaced at the wrecker and the other two characters who were now in the room.

One was Fix-it Felix Jr., of course. He didn't look as irate as Ralph, but still cross nonetheless. It was as if he was merely disappointed in Turbo.

The woman standing beside him was tall and bodacious, wearing tight-fitted battle armor and carrying a big freakin' gun. Turbo thought she might've been attractive, if not for her boyish haircut and twisted scowl.

The racer adjusted his helmet and sat down on the block, eyeing all four of them. He was at their mercy, he knew, but he wasn't about to show any more fear. The soldier lady suddenly fired up her gun and aimed right at him, making Turbo flinch and yelp. Well. So much for that plan.

"Start singing, dirtbag," she snarled. "While your vocal cords are still intact."

Yeesh, this chick was insane. Turbo did his best not to be intimidated and he cleared his throat nervously. It was then that he noticed "Calhoun" was written on the woman's shoulder plate. "Heh… You see, I… After the volcano… Ugh, can you put that away? I can't concentrate."

Felix nodded at Calhoun, who reluctantly put her weapon at her side but didn't turn it off.

Turbo took a deep breath, gathered his thoughts, then explained everything that happened to him since he got vaporized. He cringed at the memory, and he wasn't sure why he agreed to tell them, but it didn't seem like he had a choice. If he was going to die, he would rather it be later than sooner.

Ralph looked unconvinced, as if he thought Turbo made the whole thing up. Felix and Vanellope at least seemed to be contemplating his story and trying to make sense of it. Turbo was too scared to look at Calhoun for her reaction.

"Well," Felix started at last. "That explains a lot, actually."

"It does?"

Vanellope informed him, "After I crossed the finish line, I found it odd how some things _didn't_ reset."

Turbo blinked in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Things related to King Candy, like the initials on the giant popcorn box stand, the ugly mosaic, and all the portraits in the castle."

"Hey! That mosaic is _not _ugly!" defended Turbo.

"Let me finish. I knew something was up but I didn't think much of it because I really thought you were dead. That was like, what, a week ago? Yeah, and nothing strange happened since then so I figured it was just a glitch in the system."

Turbo waved his hands and shook his head. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Did you just say a _week_ ago? That would mean—" He paused. He'd been blacked out for a whole week? Under an active volcano? The thought made him shudder, though it did seem entirely possible. He leveled his gaze at them and said, "All right, you got your answer. Now I want mine." Before any of them could object, he questioned, "How did I survive?"

None of them responded right away. They only exchanged puzzled glances until Vanellope shrugged and said, "Don't look at us. We're not code experts."

"I figured as much," Turbo mumbled. He sighed and asked, "Can you at least tell me what we're going to do now?"

Felix spoke up happily, "Yes! We were all just discussing that moments ago."

Calhoun stared coolly at Turbo through her blond bangs. "And we've come to a unanimous decision."

"Actually, I still don't completely agree…" grumbled Ralph.

Turbo narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "And?"

Vanellope punched the air in excitement. "We're going to court!"

* * *

…**It was **_**The Great Escape**_**, in case you were wondering. The part where Turbo bounces the ball in the same way Steve McQueen does when he's in solitary confinement.**

**Just to make one thing clear, this is NOT going to be a Turbo/Vanellope friendship fic. No. Just…no. Sorry if that's what some of you were expecting or hoping for, but I honestly think it's the most overrated OOC pairing (even for friendshipping) in this fandom. You may now leave your reviews. *braces self***


	3. Turbo: Ace Attorney

**Since real court cases are very boring, I've taken liberties with this one to make it as entertaining as possible. However, like real trials, it's very long because I couldn't figure out what to remove and I didn't want this to be in 2 chapters. And it might seem a little random at parts. Hopefully you'll come to forgive me.**

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Chapter 3: Turbo: Ace Attorney

The train ride out of _Sugar Rush_ was silent except for the electrical hum of the train as it hovered through the wire. Yes, the train—which took him months to eat—was back in mint condition.

Turbo grew anxious as they approached Game Central Station. He had been told that's where the trial was being held. The racer hadn't been there in 15 years (plus a week) so he didn't know what to expect. He glanced up warily at Ralph standing beside him with his arms crossed. Calhoun guarded the other side with her gun pointed casually at him. She would glare warningly at him whenever he fidgeted with his Lifesaver handcuffs.

When the train docked at the station, Vanellope and Felix hopped out first. Calhoun roughly nudged Turbo with the barrel of her gun and he stepped onto the platform, keeping his insults to himself. Once they were all out, Wynnchel, Duncan, and a dozen Oreo guards joined them and the group walked in formation: Vanellope in front followed closely by Felix; Turbo flanked by the cops; Ralph and Calhoun bringing up the rear, and the Oreos surrounding everyone.

As they passed under the archway and came into the station, the roar of the crowd increased to full volume. Turbo gawked at the hundreds of video game characters that had gathered; the whole arcade must've been there in that one power strip!

And they had all come to see _him_. He was the reason Game Central Station was more packed than peanuts on a Pay Day. Whether anyone liked it or not, he was the star of the show tonight.

Turbo allowed himself to smirk, feeling proud all of a sudden. He held his head high as the group made their way through the crowd towards the far left end.

Characters shouted insults and threats of all kinds. Most backed away in fear, while others tried to get at Turbo. The Oreo guards, as well as the donut police, kept them at bay. Turbo just smiled in amusement and kept his cool amber gaze to the stands ahead.

A banner hanging from the ceiling above the judge's podium read: "The Pixels Court". Rows of benches and chairs had been brought over for the VIP characters and those related to the trial. Most of them were from _Fix-it Felix Jr., Hero's Duty,_ and of course, _Sugar Rush_. Other spectators included Sonic, Pac-Man, Luke Skywalker, Tapper, Donkey Kong, and many other heroes.

More jeers were thrown at Turbo as he passed the benches. The _Hero's_ _Duty_ soldiers snickered tauntingly and made threatening gestures with their weapons. He didn't show any interest until he walked by his once-fellow racers.

"What a faker," Swizzle commented with attitude, standing protectively in front of Sticky.

Sticky's hands flew up to her face and she gasped, "He's hideous!"

"We were all fooled so easily," said Adorabeezle in dismay.

"I can't even look at him!" Crumbelina snootily closed her eyes and tilted her head away.

Turbo frowned in confusion. Why did they hate him so much? Okay, so he did brainwash everyone and try to kill their princess. But he'd been a great leader and a fair racer. He treated the game as if it was his own. He was even nice to the _palette swaps_, for goodness' sake!

He caught Taffyta's burning gaze before she frightfully looked away and hid behind a glowering Rancis.

_Not you too, Taffyta... _Turbo faced forward again, feeling a little uneasy. He'd been counting on them to back him up and tell everyone how awesome he was. Now he had to rethink his strategy.

Wynnchel and Duncan led him to a table to the front-left of the judge's platform while Vanellope and her friends took seats at the one on the right. Turbo sat down and was surprised when the cops released his handcuffs.

"Hey, thanks!" said Turbo with a grin.

A pair of heavy-duty metal cuffs was then slapped on.

The racer glared at his wrists and set them down on the table. A blaster shot was fired and Turbo nearly jumped out of his skin. He heard a multitude of characters rush to take their seats or find a standing place in the crowd.

Calhoun had her gun pointed at the ceiling. When all was quiet, she announced, "Listen up! We're about to get this thing underway, so if everyone could—"

"I'm-a here! Sorry I'm-a late!" Heads turned towards Mario, who had just entered the station and was squeezing through the crowd. "Scusi!" He ran up to his reserved spot on the bench near the front and briefly took off his cap to wipe his forehead. "Phew."

Turbo shot the plumber a glare. _How dare he waste my time and make everything about him!_

Vanellope spoke up, "First, we'll need a judge. Who volunteers?"

_Wait, volunteer?_ Turbo immediately raised his hands—

"Anyone who's not the convicted."

—And then slowly lowered them.

Gene stood up and nonchalantly buffed his nails on his jacket. "Ahem. I believe I would make an excellent judge."

To Turbo's surprise, Ralph advised, "It should be someone who's unbiased and a good listener." Perhaps the wrecker was still holding a grudge against the Nicelanders.

Gene crossed his arms and sat down, looking very displeased.

Then Ryu suggested, "What about Tapper?" Murmurs of agreement rose throughout the crowd.

Tapper paused wiping a glass (he always kept one on him) and glanced around. "Oh, gee, really?"

"That sounds like a good idea," said Felix. He smiled at the bartender. "How about it, Tapper? Will you be our fair judge?"

Tapper hesitated only slightly before putting down his glass and towel and standing up proudly. "I'd love to!" Applause erupted from the audience as Tapper walked up to the judge's podium and sat down at it. A white wig was handed to him and he put it on. "Wow, I feel like a real judge!"

_You look like a real nutcase. _But Turbo found it hard to be resentful towards the bartender: he thought he actually had a fair chance.

Tapper cleared his throat and banged the gavel a couple of times. "Court is now in session. The case: Turbo, yes that Turbo, vs. Vanellope Von Schweetz. Someone read the charges."

The Surge Protector gathered his papers and began, "Turbo from the game _Turbo Time_ is now standing accused of violating the arcade code on accounts of video game invasion, usurping the throne, and attempted murder."

Tapper turned to the pale racer. "How do you plea?"

There was no point in denying anything; everyone found out about him. But maybe he could say something that would give him a lighter sentence, or even let him off the hook completely. Turbo leaned back and folded his arms. "While I can't say I never did any of those things," he started carefully, "my actions are completely justifiable, so any error should be pardoned."

"We'll see. For now, you're guilty until proven innocent."

The Surge Protector continued, "We will now examine the witness stories from each side. Now Vanellope von Schweetz, who will represent you?"

Vanellope gestured to Felix and answered, "My lawyer will be Fix-it Felix Jr., sir!"

Felix looked excited. "Oh, I've always loved fixing things, and now I'll do it with the law!" This made Turbo roll his eyes.

Now the Surge Protector turned to Turbo and asked, "Turbo, who is your lawyer?"

"I don't have one," the racer pointed out obviously.

Tapper looked out to the spectators and asked, "Does anyone wanna be this guy's lawyer?" Turbo tried appealing by doing his thumbs-up pose, but everyone leaned away from him.

_Strange, that usually works like a charm… _Turbo then spoke up, "Okay Taps—"

BANG! "Ah-ah-ah! That's _Your Honour_," Tapper corrected.

"Fine, _Your Honour_, I'd like to represent myself, unfortunately."

"A fool for a client. What a surprise," said Tapper sarcastically. "Now first we shall hear from the plaintiff. May Vanellope von Schweetz come to the stand?"

Vanellope skipped her way up to the stand and plopped herself down. Felix stepped up to Vanellope and began, "Now missy, what can you tell me about your first encounter with Mister Turbo?"

Vanellope thought for a second, then spoke, "Well from what I can recall from my recently restored memories, Turbo first came to my castle saying he was from the Arcade Committee. He wanted to make sure that my game was okay for the arcade. Then I had to go train for the Random Roster Race, and left him alone with my assistant Sour Bill."

"And did you see Turbo again, excluding the events a week ago?"

"No. I came back from training and took a nap. When I woke up, I couldn't remember anything!" Vanellope then continued with teary eyes, "And then I was yelled at by a creepy old man saying he was the king and I was a glitch! He chased me out of the castle and forced me to live away from the other racers and to never race!"

"Awwww…" went the crowd sympathetically in unison.

Turbo wasn't taking any of this nonsense. "Objection! She's clearly faking it!"

BANG! "No interrupting!" snapped Tapper. "Can't you see you're interfering with the account of a sweet little girl?"

Turbo slouched back in his seat. _Unbiased, my foot pedals._ Tapper probably let the whole "judge" thing go to his head.

Felix handed Vanellope a tissue and asked, "So when you _finally_ got to race and was well on your way to finishing it, what did the creepy old man do?"

Vanellope blew her little nose and sobbed, "He crashed into my car and tried smashing it to pieces! And then he revealed himself to be Turbo!"

"Objection!" Turbo shouted. "It was _Vanellope's glitching_ that messed up my identity!"

"Overruled. We will hear your side of the story when we finish the plaintiff's side." Tapper nodded to Felix.

"We have a transcript of what Turbo said to Vanellope after his reveal that proves this happened." Felix held up a sheet of paper and continued, "Turbo said: 'I'm Turbo, the greatest racer ever. And I did not reprogram this world to let you and that halitosis-riddled warthog take it away from me. Turbo-tastic.'"

The whole court gasped at the words. Except for Turbo, who was hiding his frustration at the bland reading of his catchphrase.

Felix then asked Vanellope, "What are the other bad deeds that you saw Turbo commit?"

"He tried to kill my friend Ralph! And recently he came back in an attempt to take over my game again!"

Turbo stood up and yelled, "OBJECTION! I find that…objectionable."

BANG! "Insufficient reason."

Felix concluded, "So as you see, Turbo's unfounded abuse towards an innocent child means he deserves a severe punishment. I have no further questions, Your Honour."

"Thank you, Felix." Tapper turned to Turbo and said, "Turbo, you may now ask Vanellope your questions."

Turbo pushed past Felix and stomped his way in front of Vanellope, then put on a fake charming face. "Now then, Vanellope, how much of your time _before_ King Candy's rule do you remember?"

"Pretty much all that I said to Felix."

"Aha!" Turbo shouted as he slammed his fist on the stand, making Vanellope jump. "So that means there could've been something else that you might have refrained from mentioning! Something that could explain these other accusations!" He faced the crowd and elaborated, "When Turbo came to _Sugar Rush,_ he was shocked to find that the local ruler was an irresponsible kid! He saw her crazily drive through the castle, and when another kid crashed on the track, she never brought up health insurance!"

Felix spoke up, "Ah, objection. It's a _video game_."

"Sustained," said Tapper.

Turbo scowled but went on, "She never built homes for the spectators, she cheated in order to win, and on top of that, Vanellope let everyone eat cake!"

Vanellope crossed her arms. "It's called _Sugar Rush_ for a reason, doi. And glitching isn't cheating."

"I'm Turbo-tastic. Your argument is invalid." Turbo realized something else and demanded, "And another thing: How come you never offered me—I mean, Turbo a home when he told you his game had gotten unplugged?"

The crowd murmured. At first, Vanellope seemed to be caught off guard. "W-well… Even if I did, I suspect _Turbo_ would still try to steal my spot as best character."

The older racer spat defiantly, "Well you can't prove that, so I win!"

"Oh yeah? Well you can't prove all the dumb things you said I did!" She sat back with a smirk. "So _I_ win."

Turbo stammered for words before blurting out, "OBJECTION!"

"On what grounds?" Tapper prompted.

"I just didn't know what else to say." Turbo cringed and told the judge, "I have no further questions… Your Honour."

"Thank you Vanellope, you may be seated," said Tapper. Vanellope got off the stand and went back to her table. Turbo was about to take the stand when Tapper interrupted, "Hold on there, Turbo! We haven't finished the plaintiff's side."

"What? But you just dismissed her!"

"Oh, you must have misunderstood me earlier." Tapper clarified, "When I said 'the plaintiff's side', I referred to the testimonies of Vanellope _and_ her other witnesses."

Turbo glanced over to Vanellope's side to see the rather long line of witnesses. He let his head drop on his desk with a groan.

"I shall call to the stand Sour Bill!" announced Felix, pointing to the first witness.

"WHAT?" cried Turbo at the candy ball. "I object! You're supposed to be on _my_ side!"

"Not anymore," he replied as he got on the stand.

Turbo didn't pay attention to the discussion between Felix and Sour Bill. He'd win him back somehow…

* * *

"Okay, Sour Bill," began Turbo when he was allowed to ask questions. "Isn't it true that you always wanted to help Turbo out?"

"No, I just told Felix you forced me to do it," Bill replied monotonously.

"But when Turbo was King Candy, you were willing to serve him, right?"

"Technically, I didn't know any better…"

"Yet isn't there _some_ part of you that remembers all the great times you had with King Candy, that compels you to help him out?"

"No."

Turbo grumbled, "No further questions, Your Honour."

* * *

"So then, Wreck-it Ralph, did you feel bad after what King Candy made you do, even if it seemed like it was for the right reasons?" asked Felix.

"I felt terrible. And I can never forgive him for making me a bad guy in the eyes of Vanellope," answered Ralph, which made most of the court sigh sympathetically again.

Turbo thought, _Great, now _Ralph_ is following Vanellope's tactic!_

Felix added, "And what did you think of what King Candy's servant had done to Fix-it Felix Jr., huh?"

Ralph seemed a bit confused. "Uh, what does that have to do with—"

"Answer the question!" Felix demanded while gripping the stand.

* * *

"So, Ralph…" nervously began Turbo, noticing the wrecker's contempt. "Do you remember what King Candy told you? About heroes having to make tough decisions?"

"I remember it all right…" responded Ralph. "The problem was that it was just what _you_ wanted me to do!"

"Actually, King Candy never forced you to do anything!" Turbo reminded. "It was _your_ idea to destroy her kart. Isn't that true?"

Ralph hesitated and squeezed his eyes shut. "Y-yes…" he finally admitted.

The crowd gasped softly, and Turbo smirked at gaining the upper hand. "Besides, he gave you the medal that you worked _so hard_ to get! Isn't that worth something?"

"It wasn't worth the pain it caused Vanellope," Ralph retorted.

"Uh, well if Vanellope didn't matter, wouldn't King Candy be considered a wonderful ruler?"

Ralph stood up angrily and snapped, "What do you mean, 'if Vanellope didn't matter'? This is all about what you did to her!"

Turbo flinched and yelled, "Your Honour, the witness is harassing my client!"

* * *

Felix leaned against the stand and smiled lovingly at his next witness. "First of all, ma'am, might I say how you look so heart-stopping gorgeous tonight?"

Calhoun tried keeping a straight face, but failed and chuckled embarrassedly, "Please hon—I mean, Fix-it, not in front of the court."

_They're TOGETHER?!_ Turbo stuck a finger in his mouth and gagged.

* * *

"Now my first question is…" began Turbo. "Why are you even testifying against my client when you had nothing to do with what happened?"

"Because I don't like you," sneered Gene.

"…No. Further. Questions."

* * *

"The only reason me and the other racers were mean to Vanellope was because we forgot she was our princess. I mean, it's like, we weren't stupid or anything, we just didn't know," chattered Candlehead. "But now I think Vanellope is awesome! She's a great racer, she treats everyone with respect, and she even once baked chocolate chip—"

"Hey—Candlehead, focus!" snapped Turbo. _Her name should've been Airhead._ He rubbed his eyes, tried to ignore her flammable headgear, and asked with forced calm, "Now, do you recall how King Candy treated you?"

"Wait, why are we talking about King Candy?" wondered Candlehead, looking confused. "I thought this was about…" Then she gasped with wide eyes, "OMIGOSH! _YOU_ were King Candy the whole time?!"

Turbo bashed his head on the stand.

* * *

"Who's the next witness?" asked Turbo groggily.

"That's all with Vanellope's side," Tapper told him. "Now it's your turn."

"Huh?" Turbo lifted his head up and saw the judge waiting expectantly. He let out a groan. His voice was sore from talking and he couldn't keep his eyes open; there was no way he could do this now. "Uh, can we take a break?"

"Hm, well it seemed like you were so anxious to get to your side, but I'll grant a recess." Tapper banged his gavel and said, "Everyone be back here in thirty minutes!"

Everyone got up to stretch their legs, but Turbo laid back in his chair with his feet on the desk. "Oh, I need a bunch of witnesses…" He must have blacked out, because the very next thing he knew, Tapper was banging his gavel again. "Gah! Huh?"

"Court is back in session," Tapper declared. "Is the defendant's side ready?"

Turbo cleared his head and replied, "On behalf of my client, I shall ask for volunteer witnesses!" He looked over the audience, but not one of them seemed willing. Even Taffyta refrained from standing up or even looking at him. _But she was my only other chance!_ whimpered Turbo in his mind. "…Fine! My client shall be his only witness, just as I am my only lawyer. I mean, you know!" Turbo stepped toward the stand, but got a bit confused. "Wait, should I just talk about my case, or do I have to ask questions to myself?"

"I'd'no," Tapper mumbled with a shrug.

"Okay then…" He glanced at the audience. All eyes were on him, waiting expectantly to hear his side of things. _I can do this,_ he thought confidently. Their keen attention empowered Turbo to lean on the stand and ask the empty space, "So tell me, Turbo, how do you explain everyone else's unanimous yet highly exaggerated claims about you?"

He hopped into the seat and answered to the non-existant lawyer, "You could say that Vanellope's recent propaganda caused everyone to root for her!"

Turbo switched out of the stand (think Pixar's _Geri's Game)_. "How does it make you feel that all these people are now against you?"

He fell back into the stand and tried squeezing out a few tears. "It's just so hard, you know? Everyone here says I am a big meanie, and that I don't deserve to exist! Can't you see how misunderstood I am?" _Well it worked for Vanellope…_ He added a few gratuitous sobs, but it didn't look like anyone reacted to them.

He got out of the stand and cleared his fake tears, patting the space comfortingly. "There, there. There, there. Now is it true that when _Sugar Rush_ came in, your first instinct was to game-jump and conquer it?"

Switch. "Of course not! All I wanted was to welcome them to the arcade and hopefully get a place to live! I didn't know that Vanellope was a selfish princess. I felt that Sugar Rush deserved a better ruler."

"And so you found a new home. But if you wanted people to accept you, why did you create a disguise?"

"I know people are prejudiced against me, so I had to give myself a makeover just so I could fit in."

"And when Ralph and the others found out about you, what did they do?"

"They tried to prevent me from winning a race, they used Vanellope to expose me, and then they tricked me into being eaten by a Cy-bug and burning up!"

"And then when you got back to the surface, why did you try to break into the castle?"

"I only wanted to go back to the home I lived in so much longer than that mean girl did!" Turbo turned back to Tapper and said proudly, "In conclusion, I find the defendant to be the true victim of this case. I have no further questions, Your Honour."

"Thanks for the entertainment," Tapper said bluntly. "You might as well stay where you are. Felix will interrogate you now."

"Good!" sighed Turbo, leaning back. "I got tired from switching places."

Felix stepped up to the stand and began, "You've got quite the record, Turbo. I'm glad Shift and Drift aren't here to see how low you've sunk."

Anger flared up inside Turbo at the mention of the twins. "OBJECTION! How dare you speak their names!" he yelled, standing up. "This isn't about them, so don't even bring them up!" He'd been trying to forget about the close bond they shared so that he would stop feeling so bad.

Felix flinched but remained calm. "I'm afraid your past actions are indirectly responsible for your latest scheme. Does it not make sense that if you game-jumped once, you would most likely do it again?"

Turbo sat down and tried to slow his breathing. "Ok, look. I did game-jump, but it was for the good of my game."

"How so?"

…_Darn, I need something convincing…_ "Well… When all the gamers started playing…that game whose title shall not be mentioned…instead of my game, I merely became concerned. I knew that my game would be unplugged if no one played it, so I took it upon myself to remind the gamers that they still loved me." As he finished, he realized what he said was somewhat true. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Because of you, the twins paid for it with their lives," said Felix grimly. "And yet you still didn't learn. If you were only concerned for your game, you wouldn't have tried to take over another one, that being _Sugar Rush_."

"OBJECTION!"

"Now what?" asked the judge.

"I want an apology."

Tapper raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"It is just _rude_ to accuse me of murdering the _Turbo Time_ twins."

Tapper sighed. "Really, Turbo, you're gonna have to—"

"No, no, Your Honour," Felix interrupted respectfully, "perhaps I did cross the line." He adjusted his gloves as he apologized, "I'm sorry, Turbo. I had no intention of accusing you of directly causing the death of the twins."

Turbo leaned back smugly. Felix couldn't stand not being nice to anyone, and the racer was glad he could use it to his advantage.

Felix cleared his throat before asking, "Now then, why did you invade _Sugar Rush_?"

"I needed _some place_ to live." Turbo looked down. "I couldn't take sleeping above Game Central Station and eating from the garbage anymore." From the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Ralph shift uncomfortably.

"Well, did you really have to erase Vanellope's existence for you to have a home?"

"Look, just because she's a princess—"

Vanellope cut in, "I'm a President now, actually."

Turbo stared incredulously at her. "_OBJECTION_!"

The bartender judge blinked. "To what?"

Turbo leaned over the stand and pointed at Vanellope. "To her being President!" he shouted.

The young girl stood up with arms crossed and questioned, "What's wrong with that?"

"Only boring, old white guys can be President," he stated decisively. "Besides, you have to be elected."

"Ok." Vanellope turned to the rest of the court. "Who wants me to be President?" Everyone raised their hands and cheered, prompting Vanellope to smile victoriously at Turbo.

_That little glitch!_ He was about to lunge across the stand, but Felix stood in front of him.

"Yes, well, now that we settled that," the handyman began, "can you tell us why you tried to delete Vanellope and take her place?"

"Just because she's a prin—Pres…ident… doesn't mean she's a good one. Sure, she can win over anyone with 'good behavior' and 'cookies', but a good ruler needs to take action on the issues."

"Like trying to prevent Vanellope from getting back in her game," said Felix.

"Exactly! I mean…uh…" Now that Turbo thought about it, that _was_ the only issue he was trying to take care of when he was King Candy. "Well at least it's much better than the carelessness Vanellope caused before I got there!"

"Now why do you insist that Vanellope's careless acts when she was a princess existed when no one else remembers them when they got their memories unlocked?"

Turbo knew he was in a corner; he'd have to make some last second lie. "W-well, same reason why all the King Candy stuff hasn't been erased!" he shot back. "Answer _that_, Felix!"

Felix fiddled with his gloves. "Um… I know _I_ can't…"

"So you admit it!"

Felix was struggling for words, but then another voice shouted, "I believe _I_ can explain it!"

Everyone turned their attention to Sonic the Hedgehog, who got up from his seat and sped to the front of the court. "When someone goes into someone else's game and changes the code, all the changes that person makes are hardwired, unless some elements are protected by anti-virus software, like Vanellope herself! The changes to Vanellope would reset to what they originally were, but the King Candy stuff would remain after a game reset." He pointed to Turbo and continued, "It's also related to why Turbo came back. The only way for someone to regenerate in another game is to make himself part of the game!" The crowd gasped in awe at this information.

Gene grumpily asked, "Why didn't you tell us this earlier?"

Sonic shrugged. "I thought it was kind of obvious."

"Hold on," Calhoun spoke up. "His code was overwritten by the Cy-bug, thus making him a part of _Hero's Duty_. So technically he should've been killed off for good."

Just then, Turbo remembered a very important detail and informed, "That's right! But I glitched into my original form at the last second and died as myself!"

Sonic casually deduced, "Then that means Turbo respawned because at the time of death, he was part of _Sugar Rush_." He dashed back to his seat.

"Yes, thank you for clearing that up for us, Sonic." Tapper gestured to Felix. "Please, continue."

Felix asked, "If all the stuff relating to Vanellope was hardwired into the game, wouldn't the memories of all of her recklessness come back just as easily?"

"…Uh…" _How am I supposed to answer that? Oh, my aching head…_ He glanced up at Tapper and asked meekly, "Is it too late to use the 'insanity' plea?"

Tapper replied bluntly, "We already know you're insane, we just don't care."

Felix straightened up proudly. "I have no further questions, Your Honour." He went back to his seat while Turbo trudged back to his table.

Tapper announced, "It is now time for the jury to decide on a verdict. Members of the jury, please enter the portable booth."

The jury, which consisted of characters from multiple games, got out of their chairs and went inside the enclosed booth. Exactly 1 second later, they came back out.

"Has the jury reached a verdict?"

Dig Dug answered, "We the jury find the defendant guilty as charged."

Turbo gasped. "OBJECTION!"

BANG! "Too late."

Turbo fell upon the desk and pounded his fists stubbornly. "No! I made such a good case on why I was innocent!"

"But you pleaded guilty in the first place, remember?" said Tapper.

"Not exactly…" Turbo mumbled.

"Well it doesn't matter now, we just need to come up with a good sentence for you." He gestured to the audience. "I'm open to ideas."

At once, the crowd started shouting punishments while Turbo shrank back and gazed around at them in terror.

"Throw him off a building!"

"Use him for target practice!"

"Roboticize him!"

"Grrr! Zombie eat Turbo!"

"Give him the electric chair!"

"Make him stand in for Knuckles' punching bag!"

"BURN HIM AGAIN!" (Turbo cringed the most at that one.)

As more ideas were being thrown out, Vanellope stood up and silenced the crowd with a majestic bow. "If I may, Your Honour, I think I know the perfect punishment for him…" she said, channeling some of her programmed princess personality. However, her mischievous gaze made Turbo gulp nervously. She nodded to a couple of her servants. "Bring it in."

* * *

**I meant to say this in the previous chapter, but upon a recent viewing of WIR, I noticed after Vanellope reset the game, the popcorn box still had "KC" on it and the King Candy mosaic was still beside the starting line. Not sure if the animators forgot to change it or what, or if it's gonna mean anything for the sequel. Anyway, I hope Sonic's explanation made sense. I really need your reviews for this chapter, guys, as I have a feeling it could've been better but I don't know how.**


	4. Karma's a Glitch

**I apologize in advance if what happens in this chapter seems really mean. But it **_**is**_** Turbo we're dealing with here; dude's a jerk. A really awesome (and cute) one, but still a jerk. If you review, maybe I'll ease up on him…**

* * *

Chapter 4: Karma's a Glitch

Turbo watched as Vanellope's cookie servants wheeled in a large wooden box that he hadn't even noticed was there. It was pushed in front of his table, where the servants removed the dollies to set it down. Then they proceeded to pry the box open with crowbars. As they did, Turbo (and the rest of the audience) strained to see what was inside.

It was not until the top and sides of the box fell down and revealed a shiny red racecar.

"My Turbomobile!" exclaimed Turbo, standing up in surprise. "How did you find it?"

Vanellope answered with a scoff, "Doi, you 'hid' it behind a thin curtain in my room."

Instead of responding, he gazed warmly at his precious car, simply happy to see it in his time of injustice. Vanellope strolled into his vision and she patted the hood. "Hey! No touching!" snapped Turbo. "You'll get it all sticky."

"That should be the least of your worries," said the girl lightly. She looked up at Tapper and explained, "As you can see, Your Honour, this vehicle belongs to Turbo. He brought it with him when he invaded my game and I, not knowing his motives, told my servants to fix it up. And you know what? He never even thanked me!" Vanellope spun on her heel to face Turbo with a cool smirk. "So with your permission, Your Honour, I'd like to exact revenge for everything this bad man put me through."

Tapper nodded. "I'm gonna allow it."

Turbo narrowed his eyes quizzically, not sure how giving him his Turbomobile was a punishment.

That is, until Wreck-it Ralph lumbered over to the car while cracking his knuckles and grinning darkly at the racer.

"NO!" Panic seized him and Turbo instantly tried leaping over the table, but Wynnchel and Duncan held him in place and forced him to look. "No, please, don't!" he cried, struggling. "Not my Turbomobile! She's all I have left!"

Ignoring him, Vanellope stepped back and gestured to the car. "Ok, pal, do your thing!"

"With pleasure." Ralph rubbed his hands together and raised them in fists…

"NO, WAIT! _PLEASE!_" Turbo's wide eyes flooded with tears as he begged, "Please don't do this! I'm sorry, ok? I'm so very sorry for everything I did! I was a bad, bad racer but I promise I'll never be evil again! Just ple-e-e-ease spare my baby!" He broke down in sobs and fell on top of the table, not caring that the whole arcade was watching him.

But he didn't hear any smashing noises, only the sound of Vanellope laughing. Turbo lifted his head up slowly and tried to see her through his tears.

"I'm not gonna destroy your car," she snickered.

Turbo's face instantly hardened. "What?"

"I was only kidding. Stop crying, Turbo."

He clenched the edge of the table and glared in rage at Vanellope's and Ralph's amused faces. "_WHAT?!_"

The court burst into laughter. Turbo kept his hateful gaze at Vanellope and ground his teeth. _She planned this all along! She _wanted_ me to humiliate myself in front of the ENTIRE arcade! _"You GLITCH!"

"That's _President_ Glitch to you, crybaby!" Vanellope cracked up again.

Fuming, Turbo wiped his eyes and dropped into his chair. Right now, he really wished he had died in the fiery volcano blast.

Once everyone's laughing subsided, Vanellope said to Tapper, "Your Honour, I think he's learned his lesson."

"I agree. Thank you, Miss Von Schweetz, that was pretty satisfying. Now all we have to do is decide on where he's gonna live and stuff."

Immediately, members of the arcade declared that they wouldn't take him into their games, which was no surprise to Turbo. He sighed, not looking forward to spending the rest of eternity homeless in Game Central Station.

"I don't mind taking him back into custody."

Everyone stared at Vanellope, who had just spoken up.

Ralph immediately stood, brows furrowed. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, you never ran this by me."

"Just hear me out, Ralph." She explained to everyone, "He could stay in the Fungeon where he can't hurt anybody. And he can also be everyone's slave!"

Turbo grumbled. He didn't want to spend eternity behind bars, either. "Don't I get a say in this?"

Tapper replied, "Of course. There's just no guarantee that we'll listen to you."

"Well I think I should—"

"Any other ideas?" interrupted Tapper.

Turbo sat back down; his legs were getting sore with all the standing and seating he had been doing.

No one else spoke up, so Tapper decided, "I suppose it's only fair that you get to stay in the game you made yourself a part of. Just remember, you'll be under the authority of President Vanellope."

"And we'll know if you try anything funny," the young racer added.

Turbo glared at her. "Oh yeah? How are you gonna do that?" At once, Wynnchel clamped an ankle monitor on him. "…I wish I hadn't asked."

* * *

Turbo had been quiet for the ride back to _Sugar Rush_, but once he was being led to the Fungeon, he exploded at Vanellope, "You _knew_ I was gonna lose the trial! But you went along with it anyway just so you could ruin my life! _Thanks a lot!_"

"Well it worked, didn't it?" Vanellope responded calmly, opening the door. "You got what you deserved, and I feel a lot better. Actually, you should be thankful that I decided not to sink to your level and have Ralph wreck your car."

Turbo followed inside. He scowled for a minute before suddenly looking up. "Where is she?"

The president glanced over her shoulder with a quizzical expression. "Who? Yo mama?"

"My Turbomobile," he replied matter-of-factly.

"Relax, it's safe in the garage. I'll decide when you can have it back."

Wynnchel and Duncan walked in front of her to open the cell door.

"Ok, back in ya go!" said Vanellope as the donut cops chained up Turbo back in his cell. Since the arcade was going to open soon, they didn't need him until evening.

"Great. Another long day of staring at the ceiling," mumbled Turbo.

"I gave you a ball, remember?"

Turbo jabbed his thumb behind him. "If you haven't noticed, it's at the back of the cell."

Vanellope rummaged through her pocket and said, "Well luckily, I have something else. If you use it right, you can't lose it!" She tossed him a yo-yo made of a cookie similar to an Oreo. "Have fun!" She and her guards left after locking the door.

Turbo stared at the yo-yo for a second, then tried playing with it. He managed to make it go up and down a few times, but then got bored and tried doing an advanced trick. He swung the yo-yo, but the string broke and sent the cookie flying backward. "Not again!" he cried, trying to catch it. But it rolled right beside the gumball in the far corner. "AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRHHHHHH!"

Turbo banged his head on the ground repeatedly in the hopes that he would knock himself unconscious for the next 10 hours.

_(10 hours later…)_

"_T-U-R-B-O, jump into your racing car, say Turbo Time. Turbo Time_," he sang weakly. Turbo mumbled the next few notes. "_Everybody has a bad day_. …But for me it's a bad REST OF MY LIFE!" He stomped his foot, sending a sharp pain through his leg and back. But he was too busy hating to wait. Hating the arcade. Hating Vanellope. Hating himself for falling for her trick. At least he had been able to take a nap.

The sound of the door opening didn't come soon enough. Turbo looked up at once to see Wynnchel and Duncan enter.

"President Von Schweetz would like to speak with you now," said Duncan, releasing Turbo from the chains.

Wynnchel put him in the handcuffs and added, "Just don't try anything on the way to the castle. We've set our tasers from 'Stun' to 'Severely Stun'."

So Turbo let them take him to his—now Vanellope's—throne room. They pushed him into a kneeling position at the base of the steps before the throne, where Vanellope was prepping her ugly-looking kart beside it.

Turbo blinked in confusion. "You have the best kart in the game and you're _still_ using _that_ piece of junk?"

The girl glared at him. "This 'piece of junk' is also a reminder of a really great friend who saved my life and the arcade." She stroked the candy-crusted hood affectionately. "For me, it _is_ the best kart in the game."

Turbo grunted but said nothing more on the subject. "Anyway, what do you want?"

"Ok, here's the deal: You do whatever anyone tells you and you do it right. If you refuse, it's back in the Fungeon _for the rest of the night_. But if you cooperate, then I might consider upgrading you to a better cell. Sound fair?"

_No. No it does not._ The older racer shrugged, not wanting to argue. "Yeah, sure, whatever."

"Now before you get any ideas," Vanellope warned, "you should know that there are guards stationed right outside my throne room. I can't watch you at all times, so that's why I gave you that monitor so I'll know if you're out of range. Don't even think about trying to escape either, 'cause there are guards at the exit too."

Turbo glanced at his ankle monitor, then asked sarcastically, "Why would I ever wanna leave _this_ place?"

Vanellope ignored him as she got into her kart. "I have to go do the Random Roster Race, but I'm sure Sour Bill can find something for you to do in the meantime." She drove down the steps and went through the open side door. "Later, Princess-Hater!"

_Stupid glitch…_ Turbo clenched his fists and reluctantly turned to Sour Bill, who was waiting near the throne. "Well?"

Sour Bill threw down a flat lollipop in front of him and droned, "For starters, you can fan me."

"_What?!_" Turbo gaped at the lollipop, then back at the candy ball. "Forget it!"

BZZZT! A burst of electricity shot through Turbo's body and he crumpled to the floor in pain. "OOW! What the fun?!"

"Your ankle monitor also functions as a shock collar," explained Sour Bill, who was holding a small remote with a single button.

_Vanellope! I'm SO getting you for this! _Turbo scowled and reached for the lollipop. He staggered to his feet, twitching, and began to slowly fan Sour Bill. "How long do I have to do this?"

Bill hopped into the throne car to relax and he shrugged. "Until I tell you to stop, I guess."

_(15 minutes later)_

"I'm hungry. Go make me an ice cream sandwich."

"Get your own darn sandwich!" protested Turbo, throwing down the lollipop fan.

BZZT!

Growling, Turbo shakily walked out of the room and went to do as he was told.

* * *

After getting Sour Bill an ice cream sandwich, he was ordered to smash all the King Candy stained glass windows and toss all the King Candy portraits in the junkyard.

"Well, guys, I guess this is it," Turbo sighed to the cheery faces painted with the finest icing. He tilted the wheelbarrow and dumped the paintings onto the dirty ground. As he made his way out of the junkyard, he heard the rev of kart engines.

The _Sugar Rush_ racers circled him like the cutest biker gang ever, until they all stopped to face him.

Turbo gulped at seeing their angry expressions as they got out of their karts and marched towards him. _Now I know why he called them "Children of the Candy Corn"…_ The racer made a nervous smile and he greeted, "Hello, children! It's so good to see all of you." Except that it wasn't all of them, he noticed; for some reason, Taffyta was absent. "What can I, your former _king,_ do for you?"

Rancis was the first to speak. "For one thing, something seems to be wrong with my kart. Go take a look at it." He and Gloyd propped up his kart—which didn't look like the one he always raced in—with a giant popsicle stick.

Turbo wondered why they trusted him to repair one of their karts, but he walked over and crawled under Rancis' new ride to inspect the bottom. "Hmm, nothing seems out of the ordin—"

Gloyd kicked the stick out from under the kart so that the vehicle fell on top of Turbo, crushing him.

"OW!" yelled Turbo, flailing his legs trying to get out.

All the other racers laughed cruelly. "Yo, that was awesome, man!" Swizzle said, fist-bumping Rancis.

Turbo grudgingly crawled his way out and brushed the chocolate dirt off him. "You!" He glared at the kids. "I'm gonna teach you a—" BZZZZZT! "YOW! Where…?" The racer spun around, but didn't see Sour Bill anywhere.

"Tee-hee! We all have one!" Candlehead said as she and the other racers held up their remotes. They all took turns zapping Turbo, just for fun.

"AAH! Stop! OWW! Please! YAAA!" Turbo writhed on the ground, unable to control his spasms. "WAIT! I'll do anything for you!" he pleaded.

The zapping ceased. "…Anything?"

"ANYTHING!"

The racers smirked at each other.

* * *

"Okay, just so I understand…" said Turbo uneasily. "You want me to ride in a reconstructed pedal-powered car that Vanellope used to use, and to drive it through an extreme obstacle course that will likely get me as hurt as possible, just so you can see me get as hurt as possible."

"And if you make it to the end, you have to say this is the greatest track ever!" added Jubileena.

Turbo glared at the kids and grumbled, "You're one bunch of sadistic children." BZZZT! "Okay, I'll go!" Turbo hopped in the pedal car and slowly pedaled to the top of a tall hill. He could see plenty of oddly shaped ramps that led to thick walls and pointed trees. With a sigh, Turbo carefully pushed the pedal forward, and the car quickly raced down the hill. "NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The first ramp he went up shot him straight at a wall. "This isn't gonna be Turbo-tastic…" he whimpered, bracing himself for impact. SMASH!

Turbo lay sprawled on the ground, surrounded by broken kart pieces. "Ugh…" he moaned, too injured to get up. He slowly opened his eyes to see the racers crowded around him.

"Strange, he didn't last as long as I thought he would," commented Minty Zaki.

"Maybe next time we can work on a remote-controlled kart!" Gloyd suggested.

Turbo groaned quickly, "Oh please, no."

The kids started to head back to their own karts. "We're done with you for today," said Rancis. "Later we'll come up with something even more fun!" They all laughed as they drove away, leaving Turbo behind.

"Couldn't you at least pick me up?" The beat-up racer struggled to his feet, then began to limp his way back to the castle.

Along the way, he came across a familiar pink kart. Turbo didn't see the blond it belonged to, until she pulled herself out from under the kart with a wrench in her hand. Taffyta put away the tool and brushed her hands, before she noticed Turbo and jumped in surprise.

Seeing his chance, Turbo went up to her, trying to be as friendly as possible. "Taffyta, my favourite racer!" He reached into his pocket and tossed her one of the strawberry lollipops he always had with him. "Have some candy!"

Taffyta caught it by reflex, but she narrowed her eyes darkly at him. "I don't take candy from _strangers_," she responded coldly, throwing the lollipop back and hitting him in the nose.

"Ow, hey, what gives?" Turbo rubbed his nose and stared at her in trepidation. "First you don't defend me at my trial, and now you're acting like you hate me!"

"I _do_ hate you."

Turbo blinked, oblivious. "…Was it something I said?"

The girl growled in frustration and snapped, "You _used_ me! You never wanted to be my friend, you just wanted me to help keep Vanellope from racing so that your lie wouldn't be exposed!"

_Oh yeah,_ Turbo realized. He rubbed his sore arm and said quietly, "Yes, it's true, but I didn't think—"

"Didn't think that maybe _I_ thought that our friendship was real?" Taffyta cut in, angry tears forming in her eyes.

Stunned, Turbo began to walk towards her with his hands held out comfortingly. "Now, now, that's not—"

Taffyta stumbled backward, her hand reaching into her jacket pocket to take out a can of Peppermint Spray. "Stay away from me! Don't come any closer!" she warned, aiming the can at him.

But Turbo took another step with a light chuckle. "You wouldn't use that on m—" TSSHHH! "AAAAAAAAHHH!" He pressed his hands to his eyes in an effort to stop the sting. "IT BURRRRRNS!" he wailed, dropping to the ground. Blind and in pain, Turbo could only hear the roar of Taffyta's engine as she rode away. _Why did I give her that spray in the first place?!_

The stinging eventually subsided and he could finally open his eyes again. Feeling exhausted and hurt (in more ways than one), Turbo shuffled the rest of the way to Vanellope's palace. When he eventually got there, the President herself was waiting at the entrance with a stern expression.

"You're late," she said.

"I would've gotten here sooner if your minions hadn't crippled me," Turbo muttered.

"Heheh, oh yeah, that," Vanellope giggled. "They told me about it." She looked at her watch. "Well, the arcade is gonna open soon, so it's off to bed! Off to bed!" She pushed him towards her donut cops, who cuffed him.

Thankful that the night was finally over, he returned to his cell. As soon as he was chained up, Turbo fell asleep instantly.

* * *

_He ran through the Candy Cane Forest, trying to get away from the Cy-bug that was chasing him. While he was limber and could easily dash around the trees, the Cy-bug simply smashed through them and was getting closer._

_The scenery changed and he was somehow suddenly at Diet Cola Mountain. Seeing nowhere else to run, Turbo cowered at the base of the mountain and gasped at the mutated abomination before him._

"_Look at the greatest racer now!" cackled the Cy-bug, which now looked more like a green wasp and sported Vanellope's head. "You're just a little parasite that nobody loves."_

"_No…" Turbo whispered weakly. "Y-you're wrong."_

_Vanellobug smirked. "Am I?" she challenged. With one swift motion, she grabbed Turbo by the collar and dragged him up in the air. "Then let's see who misses you once you're gone for good!"_

_Turbo heard a loud blast behind him and felt a burst of heat. The smell of cola tingled his nose and made his heart drop. "No!" he cried, frantically trying to get free. He was turned to face the column of boiling pop, unable to shut his eyes. The heat was suffocating._

"_Long live the king…" Vanellobug hissed. She threw Turbo towards the beacon._

"_NOOOO!"_

Turbo jolted awake, panting. After a minute of calming down, he groaned, "That was stupid. I could've just flown away!"

* * *

**Don't worry, Turbo, you're still loved by half of this divided fandom. So whether you love Turbo or hate him, please review!**

**Fun Fact: Turbo doesn't recognize Rancis' kart because it's his new one from the book **_**One Sweet Race**_**. Normally I don't count expanded universe material as canon, but I like how it ship teases Vanilla Butter (I'm neutral to the pairing).**


	5. Villains Make Tough Choices Too

**Sorry if the last chapter made anyone sad, but it is kind of the point to feel for the protagonist. This chapter takes place a couple of days later and doesn't contain as much violence…but it might still make you cry. And now we finally get an explanation for the book cover!**

* * *

Chapter 5: Villains Make Tough Choices Too

BZZZT!

"Yah!" Turbo jerked awake. For the past few days, that had been his wake-up call. Sometimes they would be unnecessary, as he would always awake from a nightmare early and usually be unable to fall back asleep after. Other times he'd be grateful when they would wake him in the middle of a nightmare. Though it was hard to get the image of Vanellope as a Cy-bug out of his mind.

Speaking of the devil (from Turbo's POV), Vanellope's extremely annoying voice sang, "Wakey! Time for the kart bakey!"

Turbo rested his head on his knees and mumbled, "Five more minutes…" BZZT! "Ow! Ok, fine!"

Since he was part of _Sugar Rush_, the game kept restoring him every night until he was in good shape. Despite no longer feeling pain from the previous day, he was always worn out from his stubborn thoughts and bad dreams. So the cops practically had to drag Turbo to the kart bakery. Beard Papa was eager to see him, as if he couldn't wait to force Turbo into manual labour.

As he led the racer into the factory, Beard Papa notified, "One gamer went crazy with the icing and it exploded all over the room." He flicked on the lights, revealing the whole factory area to be splattered with green frosting. Even the ceiling.

Turbo's jaw hit the floor. _You've GOT to be kidding me._

"You'll need this." Beard Papa handed him a mop and bucket before leaving.

* * *

Turbo finished another section, when it felt like his arms would fall off. He paused cleaning and glanced around. He didn't see Beard Papa anywhere, so he curled up on the floor to rest.

BZZZT!

"Yow!" He jumped back up, whirling around.

"No sleeping on the job!" barked Beard Papa's voice on the intercom.

Turbo glared at the speakers, imagining Beard Papa was feeling pretty high and mighty getting back at him like this. He forced himself to resume cleaning.

All of a sudden, Turbo heard a rushing whoosh, and then in front of him stood Sonic the Hedgehog. "Hey Turbs! Glad to see ya working!"

"…What are you doing here?"

Sonic put down some camera equipment and answered, "I spoke with President Vanellope about making a new PSA, and it stars you!"

Turbo stubbornly mopped more of the area and said, "If you can't see, I'm trying to complete a job right now."

"That's exactly what I want!" Sonic set up his video camera and pointed it at Turbo. "You'll do your hard work, and then pause to say the stuff on my script." He handed Turbo a couple of pages, then went behind the camera. "Just act natural!"

_(Several takes later…)_

Turbo stood boredly in front of the video camera and scrubbed a part of the floor. "Game-jumping is not a victimless crime," he stated monotonously.

"Cut!" Sonic stepped out from behind the camera and shook his head. "I'm still not feeling you, man. Come on, step it up!"

The chalky racer groaned and sagged his shoulders. _If I don't just do what he says, I'll be here for hours… and then I'll never finish this job!_ He straightened up and put on a focused face. "Ready, hedgehog."

Sonic snapped a clapboard and said, "'Turbo Says Game-Jumping is Bad' PSA: take 5. Annnnd, Action!"

Turbo summoned his inner actor and spoke with enthusiasm, "Game-jumping is not a victimless crime. Take it from me; my actions led to the deaths of countless innocent characters, and it also ruined my life." It took all his strength not to cringe as he concluded, "Just say 'No' to Going Turbo."

"And cut! That's a wrap!" Sonic stopped recording and clapped. "Not so hard after all, huh? Piece of cake!" He fiddled with the options on the video camera. "Now all I have to do is choose which film effect to use. Should I pick sepia? Film grain? Colour spectrum? Normal?"

Turbo looked at the monitor and saw the recording of himself with the different effects as Sonic listed them. "No one's gonna care," he grumbled, soaking the mop.

Sonic informed, "Actually, it's gonna be a very effective PSA, with you getting a lot of attention recently."

This perked him up. "Attention, you say?"

"Sure. You're the Arcade's Most Dangerous. Haven't you seen your courtroom sketches?" Sonic held up a coloured drawing of Turbo's face that must've been sketched during his trial. "They're practically collectors' items. I had to pay 500 rings for this copy!"

Turbo inspected the drawing and scowled. "You might wanna ask for a refund. They didn't get my nose right!"

Sonic shrugged and put the sketch away. "Doesn't matter. Everyone knows who you are." As he packed up his camera equipment, he added warningly, "Don't start celebrating your icon status just yet. We still don't like you."

Turbo turned away, pretending not to care. "Yeah, sure, Sonic." However, he couldn't help but wonder: Was he really going to be happy being popular for being a criminal?

"You can get back to work now. I gotta get this footage to the editing room!" said Sonic as he packed his things and sped away. Turbo continued mopping, his thoughts still on what Sonic told him.

"I'm done!" he announced after a few hours. Turbo dropped the mop and sat on the floor.

Beard Papa walked in and examined the room. "Huh. Not bad. But you took longer than I thought you would," he commented.

"Mopping the ceiling with double-sided tape stuck to your shoes isn't as easy as it looks," Turbo said dryly. "Plus, there was Sonic."

"Well, you got the job done, so I guess I can't harp on you for that." Beard Papa opened the door and pushed Turbo outside.

The pale racer shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away with no destination in mind. It didn't matter where he went—someone was bound to call him sooner or later. Everyone with a remote had their own personal shock pattern to let Turbo know who was calling, kind of like Morse Code. He'd gotten pretty good at memorizing the different patterns, if he did say so himself.

Sure enough, Turbo was electrocuted with four short bursts. "Now what does Vanellope want?" he grumbled, turning towards the castle. _She better not make me wear her princess dress for the rest of the day again…_

Vanellope was sitting in her throne-car with her feet resting on the steering wheel when Turbo walked in. "Ah, there you are!" she greeted. "So, how're you liking your new position so far?"

Turbo firmly set his jaw. "This isn't working, glitch. All these punishments won't 'reform' me."

"Give it some more time. You'll break eventually."

_Don't count on it,_ he hissed inwardly. "Was there something you wanted?" he asked instead, forcing himself to be calm.

"Ready for your next out-of-game assignment?"

"Aw, not another one!" he complained. "I got enough action from the street fighters yesterday!"

Vanellope asked, "What, did they use you for car-breaking minigame practice?"

Turbo tugged on his collar uncomfortably. "Not exactly…"

_(Turbo's flashback to yesterday)_

_Ryu stood behind Turbo and pushed him toward Chun-Li. "Excuse me, Turbo has something to tell you," he said to his female colleague sneakily._

_Turbo realized it was pointless to try refusing anymore. He glanced at the note Ryu had given him, took a deep breath, and forced himself to say, "…'I love you'."_

_The next thing he saw was a foot colliding with his face._

_(End flashback)_

The president snickered. "You're right, I do feel sorry. For Ryu! Ahahaha!"

"If it's any consolation, Chun-Li still got the intended message from him," Turbo grumbled, embarrassed. "Now can I _not_ get beat up by girls from other games?"

Vanellope pointed out, "You keep getting hurt here too, remember?"

"Yeah, but at least here I don't have to fear for my life."

"Well, where you're going, you won't have to as long as you do exactly what she says…"

* * *

As soon as Turbo crossed the barrier into Game Central Station, alarms blared and the lights flashed red. Game characters gasped in fear and stared at him warily, just as they had done every single time he entered the power bar. The Surge Protector appeared in front of Turbo as always, but this time he was holding a holographic handgun.

"Don't move! Hands where I can see 'em!" Surge ordered.

Turbo raised his cuffed hands defensively. Then he realized something and he questioned, "Hang on, how can you hurt me with holographic bullets?"

"I'm the one asking questions around here! Now state your business!"

Duncan and Wynnchel, who were right behind Turbo, waved at the Surge Protector. "He's with us," said Duncan. "Vanellope has given him a job in _Hero's Duty_."

Surge stepped off to the side. "All right, walk on slowly."

Turbo began walking—

"Slower!"

He grimaced and continued to walk at a much slower pace. Surge kept his gun aimed at the racer and followed him as Turbo made his way across the station to _Hero's Duty._

It was so quiet that he heard his footsteps echo on the floor. He could practically feel everyone's glares coming at him in all directions, and it actually started to make him uncomfortable. Maybe sometimes it _was_ better to not be the center of attention.

* * *

The _Hero's Duty_ soldiers snickered as Turbo dragged a heavy case into the dark hull where everyone was waiting for Calhoun. It was apparently her idea to have Turbo be the ammunitions guy for that night's practice session.

"Hey, shrimp. Need any help?" one soldier taunted.

Turbo gritted his teeth. "No." He continued to haul the case with difficulty.

A second soldier mocked, "Where are you stationed? The Keebler division?" This got a laugh from everyone.

"It's funny 'cause he's from _Sugar Rush_," another soldier noted dorkily.

Turbo rolled his eyes and said, "Like I've never heard _that_ one before." In reality, he actually hadn't.

Calhoun's familiar voice barked, "Look alive, ladies! It's time to kiss your optimism good-bye!"

"…What?" Turbo mumbled, while the soldiers just straightened up with serious faces.

The sergeant reminded, "Even though this is a practice round, the Cy-bugs are still just as real and deadly. Got it?"

Turbo raised his hand meekly. "Um… I'm not going out there, am I?"

Calhoun whirled in his face. "Are you thick? I wouldn't even trust you to go out there on a hiking excursion!"

"Oh thank goodness!" Turbo sighed in relief. "So, where will I be?" After he said that, the door to the gameplay area opened up (thankfully without any Cy-bugs at the moment).

Calhoun grabbed Turbo by the collar and shoved him into a bunker near the entrance. "Don't move from that spot until I tell you to," she ordered, pointing.

Turbo sat up and rubbed his back. "Ow…" The ammo case then fell on top of him. The simulation began and he could hear Calhoun and her soldiers firing at Cy-bugs. Turbo sat in a corner with the case and tried to ignore the screaming, blasting and insect wingbeats. _Find a happy place, find a happy place, find a happy place!_

His thoughts were interrupted when a soldier jumped into the bunker and panted, "I need more ammo!"

Turbo quickly opened the case and stared in confusion at all the different types of ammunition. "Uh, which one?"

"The one that goes with this gun!" replied the soldier hastily, holding up his weapon.

"Hmm…" Turbo studied the gun, then looked back at the ammo. "I may need a chart." He sifted through the boxes of ammo and found a small chart at the bottom of the case, all while the soldier growled in frustration. "J-just give me one second…" Turbo's eyes darted around the boxes until he finally found the correct one. "Here you go!" He handed the box over.

The soldier snatched the box and loaded his gun. He then threw the empty box at Turbo's head and left.

"_You're welcome!_" the racer spat after him. A few minutes later, the beacon turned on, signaling the first round of practice was over. All the soldiers went to Turbo to restock their ammo for the next round. This was even more challenging, as they were all shouting the type of ammo they needed at the same time. "Okay! I'm coming!" Turbo yelled as he frantically shifted the boxes around to find the ones he needed. He tossed some boxes to the soldiers, but some of them were thrown back at him.

"These are _pistol_ bullets!" shouted another angry soldier.

Turbo retorted, "How am I supposed to know what type they are?" However, this was barely audible over the yells of the other soldiers. Turbo groaned and continued handing out boxes until the soldiers were satisfied.

Calhoun walked up to Turbo and stated coldly, "We're taking a few more practice rounds before the arcade opens. If you still don't know your ammunition by then, I'll consider you a waste of our time." She walked off to the start position.

"Hmph, what does Felix _see_ in her?" scoffed Turbo miserably. He tried to memorize the chart, but the words were too small to read and everything looked the same. He sighed, rubbing his eyes. _How long until I don't have to deal with this anymore?_ he wondered.

Once all the practice rounds were over, Turbo finally heard Calhoun tell him, "All right, get out. But don't take anything with you."

Turbo stood up and cracked his back, then climbed out of the bunker. He saw Calhoun and the soldiers disperse; some went through the portal into Game Central Station, some to a residential area in the world. He started to make his way to the tram station, when a green flash in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

Instinctively, he dove behind a jagged piece of wall. _Please tell me that's not what I think it is…_ Turbo cautiously peeked out.

A Cy-bug. Thankfully, it was only a baby, which is probably why it hadn't flown into the beacon. It scurried around, trying to track down its now-lost target.

_Disgusting creatures,_ thought Turbo bitterly. He was about to let the others know, when an idea suddenly came to him: Ralph became popular by doing something heroic. Maybe all Turbo had to do for people to like him was also do something brave! He pondered quietly, "If I kill that Cy-bug, everyone will think I'm awesome!"

The Cy-bug had its back to him, so Turbo crept out from his hiding spot and snuck up on the bug from behind. "DIE!" He stomped hard on the larva, which let out a squeak. "Heehee! The little Cy-bug went 'Squeak!'" Turbo giggled childishly.

The "little" Cy-bug suddenly grew and stood up, making Turbo lose his balance so that he fell over.

"Whoa!" he cried, crawling backwards. _This was a really bad idea!_

The Cy-bug shrieked and charged at him, quickly growing larger.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!" Turbo scrambled to his feet and ran away in pure terror. His burst of adrenalin helped him zigzag around obstacles, but he still couldn't get away from the "clink-clink-clink" of the Cy-bug's legs striking the ground right behind him.

As if things couldn't get any worse, Turbo came to a dead end. "NO!" He spun around, gasping as the fully-grown Cy-bug stalked closer. He pressed himself against the wall, scared out of his wits. This was it. He was going to die for good this time. His recurring nightmare was going to come true.

The Cy-bug leapt at him, and suddenly exploded in a burst of green goo.

"Aaah!" The even-paler racer cowered, then slowly opened his eyes to see a green puddle on the ground in front of him- the Cy-bug was dead.

"What the fun were you thinking?!" a harsh voice snapped.

Turbo glanced up and saw Calhoun storm over to him, her blaster still at the ready. But he was paralyzed by what almost happened and could only stare at her with wide, yellow eyes.

"If it wasn't for me, you would've been eaten by that Cy-bug!" She leered in his face. "Remember how much fun that was last time?!"

That immediately brought flashbacks of his time as a Cy-bug. The painful synchronization. The mindless want for destruction. The horrible, horrible burning. "Noooo-o-o-o!" he wailed, dropping to the ground and cradling his head.

"'No' you don't remember?" questioned Calhoun furiously.

"_Nooo_! I don't wanna be a Cy-bug again!"

Calhoun's fury blinked away and she remarked, "Geez, you're worse than Markowski."

Turbo clutched her leg. "Please take me back home, mean lady!" He added more normally, "Oh, and don't tell anyone what happened."

* * *

"That was a gutsy move, Turbo," Vanellope started. "But it was stupid."

Turbo drooped his head, his hands still in Calhoun's handcuffs.

Vanellope turned to the tall blond. "Sorry for all the trouble he's caused, Mrs. Fix-it. I'll take it from here."

Calhoun nodded and released the cuffs. "Thank you for your time, Ms. President," she responded with a little smile. It turned into a callous scowl when she looked at Turbo before marching out of the room.

Vanellope crossed her arms. "So, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Turbo thought for a moment, then opened his mouth to tell her what had made him decide to kill the Cy-bug.

But the girl raised her hand and spoke, "Actually, I don't care. It was probably another one of your get-fame-quick schemes."

"Well…yeah," he admitted. "But see, I just thought—"

"What? Did you just think, 'Oh, I'll jutht kill a Thy-bug and thuddenly become famouth and thucthethful! Turbo-tathtic!'" Vanellope mocked, poorly imitating his King Candy voice.

Infuriated, Turbo protested, "I don't have a lisp! How dare you ruin my catchphrase!"

"It still doesn't change the fact that you disobeyed orders." She looked up and tapped her chin. "Lemme think… Maybe some time sweeping the corridors would set you straight."

Turbo's jaw dropped. "That'll take all day!"

"Then you better get going, mister." Vanellope rolled up her sleeve to look at her watch. "Oh wow, the arcade's gonna open soon. Luckily you'll be inside the castle the whole time so nobody will see you. If you do happen to finish early, ask Sour Bill for some more work." She got out of her throne and hopped into her kart. "Now get outta here before I run you over."

* * *

It was nearly closing time by the time Turbo had finished sweeping the sugarcoated halls. He was just around the corner from Vanellope's throne room, as he could hear the Oreo guards marching in front of it.

Turbo stopped. Vanellope still wasn't back yet. Maybe he would have enough time… He quietly put down the broom and dustpan and snuck up to the end of the corridor, where an elegant vase sat on a table. Turbo hid under the table and peeked around the corner to wait until the guards were facing away from him.

_Wait for it… Now!_ Turbo rolled out from under the table and grabbed the vase. He chucked it down the hallway in the opposite direction, where it hit the floor with a loud smash. He never did like that vase anyway.

The guards suddenly stopped their chant and turned around. They immediately ran in the direction of the sound, not noticing Turbo who was under the table again.

Once they had passed, the racer rounded the corner and bolted through the doors to Vanellope's throne room. He rushed down the hidden hallway and went into the elevator, where he managed to catch his breath.

This was it. No more punishments. No more pain.

The elevator opened and Turbo marched to the Nintendo controller. "What was it again…?" he muttered, hands hovering in front of the buttons. "Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A…Start!"

But the door didn't open. Instead, a red light lit up and an alarm wailed.

"AAH!" Turbo winced and covered his ears through his helmet. "What the—?" _Oh no… It's a trap!_ He ran for the elevator and tried opening it, but it was locked. "NO!" He backed away and whirled around. There was no escape.

He anxiously waited for Vanellope to come out of the elevator and scold him… But nothing happened. Well, the alarm kept blaring, but that was it. "Argh!" he growled after a few seconds. Turbo had nothing else to do but huddle on the ground and try to endure the alarm.

About 20 minutes later, the elevator finally opened and out came Vanellope and her two cops.

"Did you really think I wouldn't change the password?" said the president.

"WHAT?" Turbo yelled, unable to hear.

Vanellope went over to the controller and pressed some buttons. The red light went off and the alarm stopped. "I mean, how stupid do you think I am?"

Turbo had no choice but to let Wynnchel and Duncan cuff him again. "Well…"

"I can't believe we were all giving you a second chance and now you were going to mess with my code again—"

"I wasn't going to mess with your code!"

Vanellope blinked. "You…weren't?"

Turbo hung his head, feeling very vulnerable. "I was…" he explained painfully, "…going to lock up my memories."

There was a long silence. Then Vanellope remarked, "Wow, you're _really_ messed up, Turbo."

He sighed. "I know. That's why I wanted to forget about my past so I could live a normal, non-criminal life. Nobody would have to punish me anymore because I wouldn't know what I had done." Turbo waited for a response; even in his desperate state, he was still too proud to look at Vanellope.

Eventually, she said, "Huh. No idea you felt that way. But you're still not allowed in the code room under any circumstances." She paused thoughtfully. "Buuut, if ya really want, I might consider going in there and locking up your memories for you. Might."

Turbo knew that if that was as far as Vanellope would go, he'd have to live with it. "Okay. I accept your consideration."

"_Possible_ consideration to you!" corrected Vanellope. "Wynnchel, Duncan. Take him back to the Fungeon. He deserves some time alone for attempting to go where he shouldn't." As the cops led Turbo past her, she added to him, "And in the unlikely event that I do decide to lock your memories, you should know that you'll forget _everything_."

Turbo paused for a moment. "Like, _everything_, everything?"

"Do I have to spell it out for you?" she said impatiently. "Your whole life, including your identity and the people you know. Gone." With a cheery wave, she said, "Well, see ya later!"

On the way back to his cell, Turbo pondered over the possibility of losing all his memories. Sure, most things he was perfectly ok with forgetting. But what about all the amazing things that had happened during his life?

The donut cops locked him up and departed, leaving Turbo to wrestle with his decision all night long. At least he didn't have to worry about nightmares.

* * *

…**I've been very depressed lately. That probably explains the darker tones in this story. Please review if you think it works or not.**

**Oh yeah, and just because I know some of you might be interested, here's the deleted scene where Turbo is forced to wear Vanellope's princess dress…**

* * *

"_No_."

"You have to or else I'll shock you."

"I'll take the shocks, I am NOT gonna wear that thing!"

Vanellope slyly swung her princess dress by the coat hanger and asked, "Why? Scared you'll like it?"

Turbo stammered, then angrily swiped the dress from her. _Nobody_ called him scared. "Fine, freak." He stormed into the changing booth. "Lousy, stinkin', bratty…" he muttered as he changed into the dress.

After a couple of minutes, he remained inside the booth and declared, "Ok, I put it on, just like you said. I'm taking it off now."

"I have to see it first!" Vanellope told him.

Turbo responded with a loud groan.

"Don't worry, there's no one else here!"

Seeing no other choice, he pushed aside the curtain and trudged out. The flash from a camera temporarily blinded Turbo.

"Pfft-AHAHAHAHA!" the president cackled, falling to the floor and holding her camera.

Fuming, Turbo simply watched her laugh. "Yeah, yeah, get it over with."

"I—I'm s-s-sorry," Vanellope said as she tried to breathe normally. "It's just that… You look so beautiful!" She slid a tall mirror in front of the older racer and resumed her giggling.

Turbo scowled at his reflection. _Pink. Why did it have to be PINK?_ And he had thought his King Candy outfit was fruity. _Although…_ he mused, examining his waist, _it does a good job at hiding my paunch… I guess I really DO look fabulous no matter what I wear!_ He cleared the thoughts from his head; now was no time to admire himself. Hiking up the front of the dress, he strutted back to the changing booth. "Ok, now off with this thing!"

Vanellope glitched in front of him and wagged her finger. "I'm sorry, Turbo, I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

_Darn it! I wanted to use that line sometime!_ "Why not?" he huffed.

"Because you're supposed to keep it on until tomorrow!"

"What?! You never said that before!"

"I'm saying it now."

"Grrrrr…" Turbo leered in Vanellope's face, hating her with every strand of code in his body. "You're going to regret this, Vanellope Von Schweetz. These pumps are already killing my feet!"

Vanellope raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Er…I never said you had to wear the pumps…"

Turbo rolled his eyes and said matter-of-factly, "They complete the ensemble. _Hellooo?_"

* * *

**No, Turbo's not gay, he just has a fashion sense. Anyway, I took this scene out because I couldn't find a place for it, and it didn't really have a point. Just thought I'd show it for fun.**


	6. Feeling the Burn

**Unlike the last two stories, this one will NOT end at chapter 6. There was just too much I had to include so that it would flow better.**

* * *

Chapter 6: Feeling the Burn

Turbo made another tally on the wall of his new cell. Actually, it was new-ish, since he'd been upgraded a week prior, which was after the incident in _Hero's Duty_. This one was larger with a cot and no chains, but was still pretty dim having a tiny window. He was just glad it didn't have creepy clown faces.

Since his memory-locking attempt, security was back on high alert and Turbo required an escort wherever he went. The white racer found it strange, though, that he didn't get as many jobs as before. And the ones he was ordered to do were relatively painless. Perhaps everyone got bored of abusing him (not that he was complaining one bit).

Vanellope had given him a piece of chalk candy after he kept losing all her other toys, claiming that he "would be a complete nincompoop to lose it". Remarkably, Turbo didn't, and every day he would make doodles and tallies on the walls with it when he had time. He'd repeatedly drawn his 8-bit self, his Turbomobile, trophies, the _Turbo Time_ track, the twins, and King Candy crowns. He'd also scrawled "Turbo-tastic!" wherever there was extra room between drawings.

Turbo licked the tip of his chalk and tried to find an empty space, muttering, "Trophy, me, Turbo-tastic, Turbomobile, Turbo-tastic, racetrack, me, Turbo-tastic, Turbo-tastic—Aha!" He started to draw another 8-bit face in the blank spot, when the door suddenly opened.

"The President has a new assignment for you," stated Wynnchel, walking inside with the cuffs.

The racer groaned and dropped the chalk on the floor. _Here we go again… _He held his hands out and let the cop cuff him.

As he was being led out, Duncan glanced at the wall scribblings and commented, "He's lost his mind."

Wynnchel replied obviously, "I can see that."

When he was brought into the throne room, Vanellope was talking with Sour Bill. "And I wanna make sure we don't run out of punch, so bring an extra keg," she told her servant before dismissing him.

"Yes, your Presidency," drone Sour Bill. He only glanced at Turbo as he left the room.

"Evening, prisoner!" Vanellope said, turning her attention to the pale racer.

"Glitch," Turbo acknowledged.

"How're you feeling?"

Turbo shrugged. "You really wanna know?"

"Nope!" The president giggled. "Aw, just kidding. I actually wanted to tell you that I've made my decision."

Turbo leaned forward expectantly.

She pointed in the air and declared, "After a lot of thought, I have finally decided…to consider your request!"

Turbo's hope deflated. "And how long will that take?" he asked dully.

"I'll let you know. In the meantime, I have another small, non-violent job for you..."

* * *

"It sure feels nice to be the one _not_ to do this for a change," Felix said with a pleasant chuckle. "I mean, it's not like I don't enjoy doing it—I actually do—but there's something refreshing about letting someone else take over the cleaning business."

_Shut UP, Felix…_ Turbo seethed as he scrubbed the floor with a sponge. He honestly wished the carpenter would stop talking while he tried to work. "Uh-huh. Yeah," he mumbled. "I still don't see why you couldn't have just used your magic hammer."

"That's what I usually do, but it still takes time. With you cleaning, I was able to help with something else!"

Just then, Felix's scary wife walked up to him. "Thanks for building that trauma center, Fix-it. Looks like Markowski's gonna be just fine," she said, flicking the visor of his cap.

Felix blushed. "Aww, it was a pleasure. Especially because I got to spend time with you, darling." The two of them started giggling and rubbing noses.

_Oh, gross._ Turbo turned his attention back to scrubbing the floor. Didn't they know he was _right there?_

Calhoun stood up and smiled coyly at her husband. "I'll see you at the party, Felix." Without even a glare at Turbo, she sauntered away.

Felix sighed dreamily as he watched her go. "Isn't she just a dynamite gal?"

"If by 'dynamite', you mean volatile, crazy, and terrifying, then I wholeheartedly agree," Turbo answered.

The handyman must not have heard him because he sighed again and said, "Yep. I'm a lucky guy." He snapped his fingers, as if he just got a brilliant idea. "Hey, maybe that's what you need! A dynamite gal of your own!"

"_What?_" Turbo stared at Felix disbelievingly. "No way! I mean, I like chicks and all, but I'm not looking to be tied down for the rest of my life with someone who can't keep up with me." Sure, he'd had flings in the past, but nothing serious. He glanced at the floor and grimaced. "Besides, who could ever like me, now that I'm hated by everyone?"

"Well…" Felix seemed to struggle for an answer. "I'm sure there's plenty of ladies out there who are into, uh, _different_-looking ex-criminals. Though the majority of them might have mental issues…" Realizing that this probably wasn't helping, he added optimistically, "But there really is nothing like being married."

"I _am _married. To racing." Turbo stood up and dropped the sponge in a bucket, glad to have the chance to change the subject. "Now let's stop talking about stupid love like a couple of fruits. I'm done."

Felix surveyed the sparkling top floor of the penthouse. "Jiminy-jaminy! It looks great! Our guests sure will appreciate this."

Turbo sighed. _I wouldn't bet my life on it._ "Can I go now?"

Felix asked, "Aren't you gonna stay for the party? It'll start soon."

"Thanks for the invite, but I'm not in the mood to celebrate…whatever it is you're celebrating."

"Oh! Sorry, I thought someone told you." Felix explained, "It's Q*Bert's game's anniversary today. And since he and his friends live here now, I thought I'd throw the party."

Turbo was never a fan of Q*Bert (since when was he a fan of anything but himself?) and he always thought his game was weird. But Vanellope would probably lock him in the Fungeon until the following night, so he reluctantly accepted. "Fine, I'll go to your dumb party."

Once most of the guests had arrived, the party was in full swing. Everyone was dancing to 80s pop, getting drinks at the bar, and offering Q*Bert and co. their congratulations/condolences.

Except for Turbo, who was leaning against a window, closely surrounded by a group of mixed characters. They were all staring intently at him, waiting. After getting tired of glaring past them, Turbo finally grumbled, "Turbo-tastic."

"YAAAAAAY!" the characters cheered.

A _Hero's Duty_ soldier grabbed Turbo by the collar and said to his friends jockishly, "Hey, get a picture of me slugging him in the gut!"

"Oww!" The punch knocked the wind out of Turbo, and he fell to the ground as everyone else laughed. He hugged his stomach and got up, glaring. "Not cool, guys."

Guile dashed up beside Turbo. "My turn!" he said, grinning at the camera.

Everyone cracked up as the picture was being taken, and Turbo demanded, "What's so funny?" No one answered, so he snatched Guile's camera and looked at the photo. To his fury, Guile was giving him the bunny ears. "Ha. Ha," the racer snarled. He pushed a couple of buttons. "I think I'm gonna press…delete."

The street fighter took back his camera. "Go ahead. I already downloaded it to my computer."

A couple of basketball players approached Turbo and one of them handed him a piece of paper. "Karaoke's gonna start soon, and we want you to sing the first song," one of them said.

Turbo raised a brow quizzically, then started to read what was on the paper. "_Denis Leary- I'm an As_—oh, come on!"

The group howled with laughter again before going to do something else.

Turbo crumpled the paper and threw it after them. "Yeah, real mature!" He rubbed his face in exasperation just as Vanellope came up to him.

"Some party, huh, Turbo?" she said, taking a gulp of punch. "Having fun yet?"

He glowered at her. "I'm not allowed to do anything, everyone keeps telling me to 'say the catchphrase', and the bartender can't make hot chocolate!" Turbo leaned closer and added, "So _no_! I am _not_ having fun!"

Vanellope backed up, frowning. "Well excuuuse me, Princess. I was just trying to be nice," she scorned.

Before Turbo could retort, he heard several loud cracking noises and someone exclaimed, "Hey everyone! Come see the awesome fireworks!" The characters gathered around all the windows and gasped in awe at the bright display. Turbo himself looked out of curiosity.

And that's when the memory of flying into boiling cola flashed before his mind, and the intense heat rushed back to him. "Aah!" He shut his eyes and went away from the window to the other side of the room. _Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it…_

The fiery column lingered on the inside of his eyelids until he heard Felix ask, "What's wrong, Turbo?"

The racer turned to him and replied casually, "What? Nothing. Nothing's wrong. I just think fireworks are kinda lame, that's all."

"Oh." Felix got an idea and gestured to the radio. "Well, how about some music? Skrillex couldn't make it tonight, so you're free to listen to whatever you want."

Turbo shrugged and went over to it. "Why not?" He changed the station.

"_Burn, baby, burn! Disco inferno!"_

He cringed and changed it again.

"—_is this burning an eternal flame?"_

Click.

"_This girl is on fiyaaaaaa! She's walking on fiyaaaaaaaaa!"_

Click.

"_Never gonna give you up, never gonna—"_

"Aah! Nevermind." Turbo switched off the radio and shuddered, despite feeling very warm. "Nothing good's on."

Vanellope then skipped up to the two of them. "Guys, look! Look at this cake that Mary made!" She held up a cake in the shape of one of Q*Bert's pyramids that had sparklers stuck into it.

Turbo flinched at the sight of the sparklers and drew back, covering his eyes. "No! Keep it away!"

Ralph, who had appeared beside Vanellope, commented, "Wow, that's odd. I know I'd do anything for cake."

"You did," Turbo reminded bluntly.

Vanellope reasoned, "Well if you don't like this one, we always have lava cake."

"Nooo!" Turbo ran for the door. "I can't take it anymore!" Ignoring the voices of the trio, he raced down the stairs. He just had to get away from all the reminders. Turbo bolted through the ground-floor exit, accidentally hitting Mario with the door.

"Ow!" The red plumber fell on his back, but Turbo kept going. Mario sat up and rubbed his head, watching Turbo run off towards the lake in the distance. "Mama mia… I really should-a start arriving on-a time."

When Turbo reached the lake, he stopped to catch his breath at the edge. To cool his burning face, he splashed some water on it, leaving small 8-bit puddles on the ground.

Eventually, his hyperventilating subsided and he noticed his reflection in the water. Normally he would've taken the time to admire himself, but right now he looked overworked and weary—a mere shell of a man who once thought he was on top of the world. "What are _you_ looking at?" he sneered, kicking the reflection.

"There you are."

The racer didn't turn to face Felix. Instead, he sat down on a flat stone at the water's edge and put his chin in his hands. _Great. I smell a pep talk._

Felix sat down on the other side of the rock and played with his gloves for a bit before commenting, "Well! At least it's a pleasant night. As always."

Turbo didn't have the energy to roll his eyes, but he still muttered, "Shouldn't you be at the party making kissy-faces with Calhoun?"

"I—er—um…" Felix flustered, seeming embarrassed. Instead of protesting, he simply stated, "Well it's not a party if not everyone is having fun. What's wrong, Turbo?"

"…Can you be more specific?"

Felix clarified, "Well, you seemed to be frightened and—"

"Oh, good," Turbo interrupted, relieved. "I thought you wanted to talk about _feelings_ and how my life sucks."

"Hey, we can talk about that too! Thanks for reminding me!" said Felix happily. "Vanellope told me about—" He lowered his voice and made air quotes. "—your 'problem'."

Turbo gawked at Felix. "She _told_ you?!" _I knew I couldn't trust that brat to keep a secret!_

Felix held up his hands defensively. "Now, now, it's nothing to be embarrassed about…" he said, trying to calm him. "I only wish you had told us how you were feeling sooner, and then maybe we wouldn't have been so hard on you. But it's ok because we're here for you now." He gently put a hand on Turbo's. "Let me help you."

"_No!_" Turbo immediately pulled away. "I don't want your help! Or anyone's!" _And why are you so touchy-feely?!_ he felt like adding.

Felix sighed. "I know it's not easy, but it's the only way if you want to become accepted in the arcade again."

"I'll find another way. A more Turbo-tastic way."

"How about we tackle why you were frightened, first?" suggested Felix.

Turbo grumbled. He heaved a sigh, then said quickly, "So I'm afraid of fire and everything that reminds me of burning to death in an explosion. Big deal."

Felix didn't mock him (not that he really thought he would anyway). Instead, he said, "It's not a big deal. Lots of video game characters have fears. It's what makes us human." He paused, looking a little confused. "Well… made by humans. The point is that it's nothing to be ashamed of."

Turbo looked up and said resentfully, "Not that _you'd_ know about that. You're not deathly afraid of anything."

"Actually, I have a fear that not many people know about," Felix told him. "Ducks."

At first, Turbo didn't think he was serious. But when Felix didn't say anything after, he stared at him quizzically. "…_Ducks?_ What's so scary about ducks?" The worst he'd seen a duck do was steal his food.

Felix wrung his cap nervously as he explained, "They could fly at you at any time and attack when you least expect it. Or there could be a flock of ducks! A-and if you're not careful, they could make you fall off a building to your death!"

Turbo blinked a couple of times. _…Wow, he's messed up._ "Yeah, that…still doesn't really help me."

The handyman smiled. "I guess now we can talk about your feelings!"

Turbo mumbled, "Ok, so I first started having these problems when—DUCK!"

Felix screamed and immediately dove into the lake.

"Meheheheheh," Turbo chuckled in amusement and walked back to the main road. He couldn't leave the game yet without Vanellope to escort him, so he strolled down the street, taking in the scenery for the first time. He passed several identical houses until he got to one by itself at the end of the street. All was quiet except for the muffled party noises in the penthouse. And a voice right behind him that said:

"Hi there."

Turbo glanced over his shoulder at Wreck-it Ralph. His initial surprise quickly diminished. "Oh. It's you," he deadpanned.

"No need to get all excited," Ralph said sarcastically. He scratched his head and asked, "Uhh… You wanna come inside for a minute? It gets kinda cool in Niceland since, well, it's always nighttime."

"I thought it was because we're right under the air conditioner."

"Could you just come inside?" Ralph opened the door to his house. Turbo sighed and reluctantly went in with Ralph. At first there was an awkward silence as the two stood across from each other, but it was broken when Ralph said, "Look, I'm just gonna cut to the chase."

"Let me guess. 'Serves you right for messing with the code'?" the racer sneered, then regretted saying that. After all, Ralph had been kind enough to invite him in.

But Ralph shook his head. "Nah, I think that goes without saying." He casually scratched his knee as he said, "Vanellope told me about what happened—"

"You _too_?!" exclaimed Turbo. _Will anyone respect my privacy?!_

"Well, I _am_ her best friend," Ralph said matter-of-factly. "Anyway, the reason I brought it up was because she said something that really surprised me. She said you gave up."

"So what? You'd do the same if you were tortured for weeks on end, with nightmares and memories of a horrifying death!" Turbo accused.

"Probably. It's just that the Turbo I knew from long ago was always determined to get what he wanted. He never let anything get in his way and he never, ever gave up. So for you to suddenly give in like that, it's like you're now a different person."

Turbo never thought of it that way, especially since he didn't like the idea of him breaking so easily. He sighed. "Listen, it's not like I'm trying to be 'good' or whatever, I just want things to go back to the way they used to be."

"Like when you were King of Sugar Rush?"

"Yes! I mean, no! I mean…" Turbo shook his head in frustration. "Back when everyone liked me!"

Ralph raised an eyebrow and pointed out, "Well, maybe if you weren't so arrogant, it'd be a lot easier to be friendly to you."

"I am the perfect amount of arrogant!" Turbo said arrogantly. "It's all you guys who are clearly evil by going out of your way to show how much you hate me!"

"Us?! _You're _the one who—" Ralph cut himself off a groan. "Forget it, this is going nowhere."

Turbo massaged his temples. "Now that we agree on something, can you get to the point of what you were originally trying to tell me?"

"Right, sorry." Ralph looked at the floor and pondered before saying, "I know what it's like to be disliked by everyone around you, and treated like a villain, and homeless. And after what Vanellope told me, I don't blame you for trying to forget everything. But…maybe you shouldn't do it."

The racer echoed all of Ralph's words in his mind. _So _that's_ why he's being so nice… _But he forced himself not to look weak. "That's _my_ decision. Besides, I have nothing to lose."

"Except all your memories."

"Right." Another silence fell over them. Turbo crossed his arms and glanced away; his eyes rested on Ralph's cookie medal that Vanellope had given him hanging on the wall. "Why do you still have that?"

Ralph followed his gaze. "Well, obviously it means a lot to me. It reminds me that there's a very special girl who looks up to me and likes me for who I am."

Turbo frowned, remembering what Vanellope had said about her ugly kart. He turned his back to him and asked, "What would you do if she hated you for something you did that was wrong?"

Ralph seemed surprised by the question, but he answered, "You mean like when I broke her kart? Well, first I got it fixed—"

"Uh-huh."

"I also apologized and busted her out of jail—"

"Yeah."

"And it doesn't hurt to call yourself stupid names for good measure—"

"Got it."

Ralph craned his neck to the side to get a better look. "Uh, are you writing this down?"

Turbo swiftly shoved his pen and notepad back into his pockets. "What? No," he lied, turning to face him.

The wrecker tilted his head and told him, "If there's something bothering you, I can try to help."

"For the last time, I don't want anyone's help!" Turbo snapped. Seeing the brief surprised look in Ralph's face, he breathed deeply and tried to calm down. "I…I don't need your pity. I can deal with this on my own."

"It doesn't have to be that way," the wrecker pointed out. "All you need is a friend to show you the right direction."

Turbo leaned back and snootily responded, "Well sorry to disappoint you, but I guess I'm naturally bad and don't want to make friends." He casually pushed his notebook back down in his pocket.

Ralph shrugged. "Give it some thought anyway. You might change your mind." With that, he started to leave his house. "Well, I'm going back to the party before all the churros are gone. You can come too if you want."

Turbo hesitated, pondering, _Could he be right? Is making amends with everyone the better solution? …Either way, churros are awesome. _With a final glance at Ralph's medal, he followed him out.

* * *

**While the popular theory is that Felix and Turbo were good friends in the past and therefore Felix would help Turbo, I decided to subvert that and have Ralph be the one who first connects with him since they share many similarities. I also thought it'd be funny and a little sad if Turbo became pyrophobic after his ordeal with the volcano. What do you think? Please review!**


	7. One Game at a Time

**I get that some people might not like the idea of Turbo and Taffyta being friends, but I think it's believable and pretty cute. I tried not to overdo it in this chapter, though.**

**Note: Contains spoilers for **_**Portal 2**_** and **_**Final Fantasy 7**_**. …As if they're even considered spoilers anymore.**

* * *

Chapter 7: One Game at a Time

"Ugh… Why did I eat so many churros?" Turbo moaned groggily. He rolled over on his cot and tried not to think about the sugar-induced nightmare he'd just woken up from. All of a sudden, he heard a loud knock on his door, and his headache got worse.

Wynnchel unlocked it and pushed it open. "You got a visitor," he informed, stepping off to the side.

Turbo sat up and instantly brightened, but was also a little shocked to see Taffyta standing in the doorway after her reaction to him. He'd never been able to speak with her since that day.

The pink racer nodded at the donut cop. "Thanks. Uh, can you wait at the end of the hallway?"

Wynnchel seemed puzzled by the request. "I don't think so," he replied. "President Vanellope stated that the prisoner should be guarded at all times while in the Fungeon."

Taffyta pouted and clasped her hands—a trick she used to get what she wanted.

"Er…" Wynnchel scratched his head. "I suppose I can leave my post for a few minutes… Just be careful; he's dangerous." He let Taffyta inside and closed the door.

The girl waited until the cop's footsteps had faded before approaching Turbo. She didn't get too close, though, like she was still afraid of him.

Turbo smiled and remained seated on his cot, wanting to show her that he wasn't the monster everyone made him out to be. He decided to break the ice by saying, "Well, it looks like you've still got it, heheheh..."

But Taffyta frowned wordlessly at him. Her eyes searched his face, as if trying to find some semblance of King Candy in his features. Finally, she asked, "Is it true?"

"What?"

"Did you really want to lock up your memories?"

Turbo's smile disappeared and he glanced down at his boots with a sigh. "Yes," he confessed. "I wanted to forget every bad thing I had done and start over. Even if that meant forgetting everything…and everyone…" He held his breath, waiting for her response.

"…_I _would still remember," she told him, a hint of resentment in her voice. "And losing your memories won't change the past."

_Maybe Ralph's right. I should just apologize. _"Look, I really am sorry about manipulating you and everyone. Especially you." He looked her in the eye. "But I swear, everything I told you not related to Vanellope was true."

Taffyta raised an eyebrow. "Such as?"

"Well…" Turbo fumbled for an answer, then he got one. "Everything I said about you. I really do think you're the best racer in the game. Besides me, of course." Seeing Taffyta's unchanged expression, he added, "I really meant it every time I congratulated you for winning a race. And practicing together was a lot of fun."

The girl's lips twitched into an almost smile. Perhaps she was remembering the good times they had.

Turbo went on, "I'll admit, I didn't mean to be friends with you at first, it just sorta…happened. But I don't regret it. If I had the chance to do it all over again, I would."

Suddenly, Taffyta narrowed her eyes in a glare. "You would lie and scheme and trick everyone into liking you again?"

_No, bad wording! Bad wording!_ Turbo mentally berated himself. "No that's—that's not what I—"

"No, I get it." She stomped closer. "Everything revolves around _you_, doesn't it? _My_ feelings don't matter. Nothing matters as long as you get what you want!"

"What I want is to be friends!" blurted Turbo, bracing himself for a shock, a slap, more Peppermint Spray, whatever. But nothing came, so he continued, "I'm honestly sorry for what I did, and I promise I'll never do it again. It was wrong to use you like that."

Taffyta's face softened, but only slightly. She took a step back.

Seeing he was getting somewhere, he continued, "You're right, I should've taken your feelings into consideration. You've been a good friend, and I haven't." _What else was it that Ralph said? Oh yeah, stupid names._ With great difficulty, he said, "I'm a…jerkwad…and a, ugh, lousy scumbag." That was all he could come up with, but Taffyta did seem to be impressed. "Oh! But if you ever get stuck in jail, you can count on me to bust you out," he added.

Taffyta looked a little confused for a second. "That's…odd. But nice, I guess."

"What I'm trying to say is…" He smiled crookedly and gave her a thumbs-up. "I think you're Turbo-tastic."

She blinked in surprise. "You do?"

"Sure. Anyone who can beat me in a race _while wearing a dress_ is rad in my book," Turbo stated truthfully. His eyes clouded with sadness again. "I'm not asking you to like me, but can you please forgive me?"

The blond hesitated, and Turbo was sure she would refuse. Instead, she said, "I can only forgive people I know."

Getting an idea, Turbo held out his hand. "In that case, allow me to properly introduce myself. I'm Turbo."

A pause. Then, Taffyta slowly shook his hand, willing to play along. "Taffyta Muttonfudge."

"Taffyta. I'll remember that."

She made a small smile, and Turbo finally felt like they were connecting again. "Well… I guess if Vanellope could forgive me and the others so quickly, I can do the same for you," she reasoned.

Turbo nodded gratefully. "Thank you." At least someone forgave him; now he didn't feel so helpless. "Hey, I just remembered something!" the older racer spoke up. "You never asked me to do any favors for you. What'll it be: cleaning your garage? Wearing makeup? Injuring myself for you own amusement?"

Taffyta let out a chuckle. "You'd really do all that?"

"I'd do anything to make it up to you." _As long as it's not too embarrassing… Oh, who am I kidding? I deserve it. _"Even the Peppermint Spray," he added.

The girl rubbed her arm, looking a little guilty. "Oh. Sorry, about that."

Turbo chuckled. "Nah, I had it coming," he told her good-naturedly.

She grinned and looked up thoughtfully. "Actually, there is something you can do for me that I'll really appreciate…"

* * *

Turbo shifted nervously in his chair, eyeing the villains in the circle with him. They were an intimidating bunch: he recognized Bowser, Dr. Eggman, Zangief, M. Bison, Satine, and Clyde. There was also a zombie, a cyborg, a ninja, a purple rhino, some weird alien thing, a yellow robot, and a curvy sorceress who was too blue for his tastes. They all glared at him, as if they were ready to pounce on him at any moment. It was already bad enough that they had taken all the donuts before he could get one.

Ralph, who was sitting beside him, leaned down to his ear and whispered, "Start with your name."

Turbo rolled his eyes. "They know who I am," he hissed. But the wrecker nudged him, so Turbo sighed and addressed boredly, "Hi. I'm Turbo." Everyone remained silent.

Then after a couple of seconds, Ralph spoke up, "Hi, Turbo." The others echoed begrudgingly.

The racer twiddled his thumbs, not sure what to say next. _Man, this is harder than I thought it would be._ "Ummm…"

Clyde, apparently the leader of the support group, interjected, "Why don't you tell us what your life was like before you committed any crimes?"

"Ok, well… As you know, I used to be the main character of _Turbo Time_. It was a racing game with me and two other racers that apparently didn't have noses. But my game did get popular. That is until…that one day…" He shut his eyes and cringed, the memory settling like a weight in his stomach.

Clyde encouraged, "It's ok. Take your time with this part."

Turbo sucked in a breath. "_RoadBlasters_ got plugged in and stole the attention of the two gamers that were playing my game."

"_Two gamers?!_" the cyborg exclaimed in astonishment. "I thought you said you were popular!"

"I was!" Turbo insisted defensively. "Anyway, they abandoned me right in the middle of gameplay and my first thought was to take action so that _Turbo Time_ wouldn't get unplugged."

M. Bison questioned, "Why didn't you just wait a while to see if the gamers would return to you?"

Turbo opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. "Ah… Hmm." He frowned in concentration. _I guess I _could've_ done that…_ He shook his head. "I already went over this in my trial: I panicked and took the course of action that seemed logical at the time."

"I see," said Clyde. "And how does it make you feel to look back on your past, including your takeover of _Sugar Rush_?"

"I feel…" _Ashamed? Surprised? Sorry? _He didn't know how to respond in a way that didn't make him sound like a loser. "Angry," he finally decided. "Yes, I feel angry. When I think about it, there's a lot of things I could've done differently, but I don't know if the outcome would've been the same or not. There's also the fact that I worked so hard to have everything, and now I have nothing."

"Wait, wait, wait," Satine interrupted, looking suspicious. "Are you saying your only regret is not succeeding to be the most popular game character?" The others murmured in agreement.

"N-no…" Turbo gulped. "I just…don't see what's so bad about wanting to be popular," he explained.

The blue sorceress crossed her arms and said coldly, "It's one thing to want popularity. It's another to destroy games just to get it."

Eggman leered, "You're a menace to this arcade," and the ninja took out his nunchucks.

Before others could take jabs at him, Clyde spoke up, "Now, now, everyone. Remember, we have to be supportive of each other." He turned to the racer and added, "However, Turbo, it is clear that adjustments must be made. If you want people to accept you, you must first admit what you did was wrong and change."

"_Change_?" Turbo echoed, narrowing his canary eyes. "I thought all you guys promoted was to 'be yourself'. And now you're saying I can't be myself or else people won't like me? What kind of group are you running here?!"

Ralph hissed, "Turbo, simmer down."

But Turbo stood up and glared at everyone. "I said I was sorry for what I did, remember? Not to mention I've been busting my back for weeks as a slave! All I want is to fit in, and no one will let me!" He sniffed, starting to feel a little distressed. "There was a little girl… She looked up to me, and I let her down. So I promised her I'd come here to try to get better, instead of locking up my memories." Turbo sat back down and stared tiredly at his hands. "I don't want to make the same mistake twice."

Zangief remarked sympathetically, "I had no idea you cared so much about Vanellope."

"_What?! _No!" Turbo snapped. "I was talking about Taffyta!" _Ew, Vanellope? No WAY I'd ever get along with her!_

The Pac-Man ghost commented, "Pardon me, what I meant was that we can't change who the programmers made us to be, but we can change how we treat ourselves and others. Showing care for an individual is a very commendable step. While it's true that we are inexperienced in helping someone who is actually bad wanting to be good, I assure you with our assistance and your cooperation, you will find your place in society."

"Phew, that's a relief." He leaned back in his chair. "So, when does this 'place in society' event happen?"

"Turbo, this moment comes after a lot of time through gaining the trust of others," explained Ralph. "That's what I had to do, and now I feel happy in my game."

Turbo questioned, "But how does that apply to me? I was the _hero_ of my game! A-and I was happy with where I was until that… incident."

The zombie sat up and moaned, "Old place, gone now! New place, where?"

Turbo slightly inched away and whimpered, "Could you keep him away from me, please?" _I can't believe people think I look like one of those._

"Zombie has a good point," said Clyde. "You have been on a journey to find your new place in the arcade. And even though you made some poor decisions, you can still learn from them and start over."

"Uh, I guess…" Turbo crossed his arms stubbornly. "Oh, but what does it matter? I doubt Vanellope would let me be a part of the game, even as a secret character!"

Ralph pointed out, "To be fair, it would be pretty risky. As it was when I let Q*Bert and his friends join my game."

"I see your point," Turbo then clenched his fist and grumbled, "But I still won't be happy until I'm the star of any racing game."

"You already tried being the star of someone else's game," reminded Ralph dryly. "Seeing how bad it turned out, that might not be the answer."

Dr. Eggman spoke up, "Yes, remember Wheatley's role in _Portal 2_?"

"Uh, _no,_" replied Turbo flatly. "In case you forgot, I lived in isolation for 25 years. I wouldn't know about every character from every arcade game."

"Actually, he's from a home console game," Satine informed.

"What?! When did that happen?!" gasped Turbo.

Eggman answered, "That would be when companies like Atari created home versions of popular games so kids wouldn't have to travel to arcades. But what's important is that in the story of _Portal 2_, Wheatley took over the science facility from GLaDOS, and he went mad with power and turned from a nice robot into a bumbling sadist."

The cyborg added, "Actually, the 'mad with power' part only happened because GLaDOS' mainframe was—"

"Please, stop. This is too much for my brain," Turbo said as he rubbed his forehead.

"Basically, Wheatley had to suffer a downfall shortly after, just like you," continued Eggman.

Turbo paused for consideration. "…Did he still get a happy ending?"

"Ah, no. He got sucked out into space for eternity. Just be glad that didn't happen to you," the doctor finished.

Clyde summarized, "So you see, you don't have to make yourself superior to others to be well-liked and popular."

"But only the stars get all the recognition!" countered Turbo.

"Not really," said Bowser. "Sometimes minor characters end up getting more attention than planned. Like Luigi!"

_Hm, I never thought of that…_ He sighed hopelessly. "But I'm afraid I'm past the point of any chance for likeability. I mean, I was pronounced guilty, remember?"

Ralph was surprisingly sympathetic as he said, "Just because you've become infamous for the crimes you did doesn't mean that no one will be able to like you. I mean, there's always people that can find something good in anyone."

M. Bison nodded and spoke, "It reminds me of Sephiroth from one of those _Final Fantasy_ games."

Turbo stared in confusion. "I have no idea who this Sephiroth guy is, but I'm pretty sure I'm much cooler than him."

"Perhaps," said M. Bison. "This villain is known for several plot-related crimes, including the death of a fan favourite character that everyone else thinks can be brought back to life in-game, despite the creators denying it repeatedly."

"Does any of this have a point?" interrupted Turbo.

"Even so," continued Bison as if Turbo didn't speak up, "Sephiroth managed to get a massive fanbase." He muttered grimly, "While I get most known for a couple of lines in a failed cartoon adaption."

"We'll tackle your problem next week," Clyde assured Bison. He looked at Turbo. "As Ralph said, there are always people that can find a little good in someone, even you."

"No bad guys!" blurted Zombie. "Only bad actions!"

The white racer considered this new information. "Mm-hmm…" he mumbled optimistically. "So, how long until I become popular like those guys?"

The room fell silent. A couple villains exchanged unsure glances. Bowser sipped his coffee.

"Heheh, uh, these things do not happen overnight," cautiously pointed out Zangief. "You must show people that you are not evil now."

"Ok. …How do I do that?"

Satine suggested, "Why don't you start by apologizing directly to Vanellope?"

"Ick… Oh fine. If it'll get her to stop being so mean," conceded Turbo. He thought for a second, then asked, "Um, how do I give a sincere apology to someone I don't like?"

The cyborg answered excitedly, "You must wear your heart on your sleeve!" He punched through Zombie's ribcage and ripped out his heart (Zombie was totally cool with it, though).

Turbo winced at the sight and leaned away. "Ok, no need for a visual." The cyborg put Zombie's heart back.

Ralph then added, "Maybe you could also stop referring to her as 'glitch'?"

"But that's what she is!" He saw the stern look on Ralph's face and muttered, "Deal."

M. Bison spoke up, "You can learn to become humble and more respectful to others."

"And realize that you can't be Number One all the time," Eggman added.

"Aww, this is gonna take forever!" the racer complained.

"One game at a time, Turbo," said Zangief reassuringly.

Turbo heaved a sigh, nodding slowly.

"Be patient," Clyde supported. "With time and effort, everything will work out." He glanced at the clock and announced, "That's all the time we have for tonight. Let's close out with the Bad Guy Affirmation."

The game villains stood up and started to join hands. Turbo reluctantly held Ralph's finger and Zombie's hatchet. "This is kinda weird," he whispered to himself.

Turbo watched silently as the other game villains closed their eyes and recited in unison, "I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be…" Everyone paused to look at Turbo.

…_Seriously? _He sighed and finished flatly, "…Than me." As he and the others left the room, he felt Ralph pat him on the shoulder.

The wrecker said understandingly, "Hang in there, Turbo."

On the train ride home, Turbo sat across from Ralph quietly, thinking. _Well, it didn't end with a brawl, so that's something._ He went over what they had said about regaining his popularity the good way. Maybe it was possible to show people that he wasn't a bad guy anymore, like he did with Taffyta.

Turbo felt a little bit brighter as the world of _Sugar Rush_ opened up. If she and the villains were on his side, then his life could finally become Turbo-tastic.

* * *

**My theory in how the arcade characters know about non-arcade games is that they either hear gamers talk about them or that they are able to travel to the Internet via Wi-Fi, like what might happen in the sequel. **

**Will Turbo ever succeed in pursuing true happiness? Only time will tell. And that time will be whenever I upload the epilogue! Please review!**


	8. Restart

**This is it, everyone. And I'm sorry, there will not be any more sequels. I need to finish other fanfics that are long overdue. And plus I'm going back to college to study animation, so I won't really have time.**

* * *

Epilogue: Restart

"_The guys at the Bad Anon suggested I should keep a journal to record my activities and emotions. It's supposed to help with my "hate issues" or something. Well, I promised Taffyta I would attend all the weekly meetings and listen to their advice, so I might as well give this a try. Today I feel… pretty tired, so I'll continue this another day."_

_/_

"_I finally suppressed my gag reflex and managed to apologize to Vanellope for stealing her throne and trying to kill her and her friends. But it was worth it because she thanked me and got rid of my ankle monitor/shock collar! I'm still serving the arcade inhabitants, but the orders are getting less frequent and ridiculous. So I'm happy about that, at least."_

_/_

"_I'm actually becoming more comfortable with the Bad Anon group. They're like a family, which is something I never really had before. I mean, I was friends with Shift and Drift, but I treated them more like annoying younger brothers. To this day I wish I had shown them more respect. Taffyta's definitely the closest friend I have right now, and I'm so glad she didn't give up on me."_

_/_

"_I'm still living in the Fungeon, but at least I just got a much better cell. Vanellope saw how my old one was covered in chalk drawings (which she said looked like a crazy hobo had lived there) and moved me to a cell with a bed, a radio, and one of those chair-desk things. I thanked her and actually meant it, but she still insisted that I remain locked up and keep away from the code room. She even made "No Turbo" signs, complete with my mug making the same expression the "No Glitches" ones used to. Apparently she still thinks I'll start a revolution. I don't really mind, though. I've lost all interest in taking over Sugar Rush again, seeing as how much of a blunder that was."_

_/_

"_Today I had no jobs to do, so I watched the Random Roster Race. It was a little frustrating not being able to participate in it, but the race itself was pretty exciting. After that I hung out with the racers and I told them my awesome adventures in Turbo Time. And they listened and asked questions! They actually paid attention and were genuinely interested in what I had to say! You know, I never thought I'd say this, but those kids are all right. …Now that they've dropped their torturous pranks."_

_/_

"_The rest of the Arcadians still don't show me the same respect as Vanellope's friends, but I guess that's no surprise. I still need an escort when I go through Game Central Station. Usually it's Wynnchel and Duncan, who have gotten a little friendlier, even though they still like using their batons on me at times (I think it makes them feel important). Other times it's Ralph, like when we both attend the Bad Anon. And sometimes it's Calhoun. Felix told me about her programmed tragic past, so now I understand why she's so strict. Still, I wish she would stop giving me threatening looks and pushing me around. Important note: Her first name is Tamora. Not Tammy. Never, ever, EVER call her Tammy, unless you're Felix. I need to go change my ice pack now."_

_/_

"_My nightmares are becoming less frequent, thank goodness, but I'm still afraid of fire. Everyone's been pretty supportive about it, though, so I don't feel so bad. Now if only I could find materials for my fireproof suit."_

_/_

"_It's been almost six months since I started the 'straight and narrow' path. I think the Bad Anon meetings are working out for me. I know I still have a long way to go before I can reclaim my popular status, but it doesn't seem so impossible with the villains and Taffyta helping me. As for my place in society, I feel a little closer to finding where I belong."_

_/_

"_Note to Vanellope: Stop reading my journal!"_

_/_

"_Sour Bill went back to asking me if I needed anything. I guess he got used to serving me after all these years. Which is great, because I don't have to fan him anymore. What's even better is that now I'm not forced to slave for the arcade any longer! Of course, I'll still do stuff for them if I feel like it. You know, so that they'll like me."_

_/_

"_Today I got my Turbomobile back! I was so excited the first thing I did was hop in and make donuts on the road. Automatic rules, baby!"_

_/_

"_Free at last! I don't have to stay in the Fungeon anymore! Vanellope finally said I could build my own garage. The only thing is, I'm limited to building it in the far Ice Cream Mountains. Oh well, it's a start."_

_/_

"_My garage for the Turbomobile is now complete! I managed to find a place in the mountains that was as level as possible, though the ground still slopes enough to have my tools move around. There's not enough room for a mattress, so I just hung a hammock to sleep in. It's actually pretty cozy. Well, I'm off to put the finishing touches on it right now."_

_/_

"Wow, I just reminisced a lot of stuff," said Turbo as he finished skimming through the pages of his journal. He put it down on his desk, then grabbed a paintbrush and some food dye. Outside, he meticulously painted "Turbo's Garage" on the door, then stood back to marvel at his work. He had to admit, it wasn't as impressive as his old garage had been, but at least he now had one.

"Yeesh, looks like you built it yourself," he heard Vanellope's snarky voice behind him. Turbo spun around to glare at her and she added, "Only kidding. I'm surprised it's actually standing."

The older racer crossed his arms as Ralph, Felix, and Calhoun came up beside the president. "Where's the party?" he asked sarcastically.

Ralph kept lifting his bare feet in and out of the cold ice cream snow and explained, "We just wanted to officially welcome you back to the arcade."

Turbo blinked in surprise. "Really? Why?"

At first, Vanellope kept her hands in her pockets as she stared at the ground. When Ralph nudged her back, she reluctantly answered, "I guess I'm _kinda_ sorry I let everyone be so mean to you. I just wanted you to know how I felt, but I guess it got out of hand."

"You can say that again!" Turbo remarked, putting his hands on his hips. He caught himself before he could add anything more crudely. "I mean… Thanks," he said, a little surprised at himself.

Vanellope grinned and slipped her hands out of her pockets. "Plus, you've come a long way so we decided to reward you."

"We've even made you a cake!" said Felix with excitement, pulling out a cake from behind his back. It was a medium-sized cake covered in white frosting with red icing letters that read: _Welcome back, Turbo!_ "And the best part is, no candles!"

Turbo stared in amazement. He really never expected them to do this for him. "Wow, this is… I mean, it's just… Sorry, I don't know what to say." He shuffled his feet and glanced at the ground. "Er…Thank you," he decided, clearing his throat. "I appreciate it."

Felix smiled. "It's sure great to have you back, brother."

Calhoun nodded, her face surprisingly soft as she said, "Everyone deserves a second chance, even you."

_Did she just say something nice to me for once?_ Turbo smiled up at her and began, "Gee, thank—" until the sergeant suddenly grabbed him by the collar.

She whispered darkly in his startled face, "But if you ever try to hurt Vanellope or anyone else again, I will disintegrate you on the spot. Am I clear?"

"Clear, perfectly clear!" he choked out and she let him go. Turbo rubbed his neck, glad that he wasn't envious of Felix.

A kart engine revved and Taffyta drove up to them. "Hey guys!" she greeted, wiping her frosted visor.

"Taffyta!" Turbo gestured to his garage and asked proudly, "How do you like my garage? And yes, I built it myself, but it's the effort that counts."

Taffyta admired his creation, from the crooked door to the uneven back wall. "Wow, Turbo. It's so…you," she replied genuinely with a smile.

"See? _She_ likes it," said Turbo snobbishly to Vanellope, but the president only rolled her eyes.

Taffyta started turning around and said, "Come on, Turbo! There's something we wanna show you."

"We?" the pale racer repeated.

"Me and the other kids." She looked over her shoulder at him. "You coming or what?"

Turbo smiled and ran to get his signature car. "Just a second!"

* * *

The six of them rode through the kingdom until they met up with the rest of the _Sugar Rush_ racers in an area that Turbo didn't recognize, which didn't make sense since he'd explored all of Sugar Rush. He thought that this spot was just a remote part of the land that no one went to because it had nothing special about it.

Then he noticed the track built in its place: a huge, perfect oval. There were a few stands set up beside it, similar to the ones at the main racetrack. And written across the front of them was "Turbo Time".

He gaped in astonishment, staggering out of his car and slowly walking up to the track. _Am I…dreaming?_ "Is this what I think it is?" he breathed.

"Yep!" replied Candlehead happily. "It's a racetrack!"

"It's _your_ racetrack," Snowanna said accurately.

Jubileena twirled one of her pigtails and confessed, "We felt bad about making you do all those dangerous stunts, so we thought we'd make it up to you."

"The remote-controlled kart through the sour cactus patch _was_ going a bit too far," Gloyd admitted.

"We didn't realize we were being as bad as you used to be." Crumbelina said earnestly, "We're really, really sorry, Turbo."

Turbo looked at them softly. "You did all this for me?"

They nodded. Rancis smoothed out his sleeve and explained, "We saw how happy you were when you were talking about your game, and that gave us the idea."

Taffyta, who had come up beside Turbo, asked, "Is it as 'Turbo-tastic' as you remembered it to be?"

Turbo once again gazed at the cocoa track surrounded by bright green mint grass. "No…" he responded (and he thought he heard Candlehead say "Aw, man!"), "It's even better." He only wished the twins could see this. A tear slid down his face and he quickly wiped it away.

"Whoa, Turbo…" Felix leaned closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you crying?"

"No!" he lied at once, shrugging off Felix's hand. "I just… M-my eyes are just leaking."

Ralph winked knowingly. "Suuure, they are."

Turbo was about to continue protesting, but Taffyta nudged his arm and said, "What are we waiting for? Let's go try it out!"

He started to eagerly run for his car, when Vanellope glitched in front of him, hands firmly on her hips. "Hold it, Turbs! Before you get too excited, don't think that this means you're guaranteed to be a _Sugar Rush _racer."

Turbo looked at her hopefully. "So you're saying you'll consider letting me eventually become a part of the game?"

"_Possibly _consider!" she corrected snappily.

Turbo sighed. "Yeah, I get it…" He pushed Vanellope's head down so that he could leap over her joyfully. "But right now it's Turbo Time!" He hopped into the Turbomobile and drove onto the track. "Turbo-tastic!" he whooped, zooming around at top speed.

The other racers joined him, each looking almost as elated as he was. Turbo welcomed the sweet-smelling wind on his face, laughing delightfully. This was the best day of his life.

_Even if it's not at first place, there might just be…_ he thought as he gave Taffyta a thumbs-up,_ …a place for me._

The End

* * *

**Well, that concludes the Turbo Saga! I hope the ending was satisfying for you. I just wanna thank all of you dedicated readers/reviewers who read the whole series. You guys are the best! It really made my day to see all your supportive reviews and I'm so glad I could entertain you with my stories! I had a blast writing them, as it was the only fun part of my summer. Now, you may be asking, "Are you done with Turbo forever?" Well, for now anyway. But forever? Come on, even Turbo would know how ridiculous that sounds. I might end up doing a few oneshots in the future, if I get any good ideas. If I don't, I'm sure there will still be no shortage of Turbo fics on the Internet.**** Please review, and stay Turbo-tastic! =D**


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